Log inSign up

¿Quién puede explicar el problema?

¿Quién puede explicar el problema?
Who can explain the problem?
From Lesson 45:Ability and requests (poder)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about ¿Quién puede explicar el problema?

Why do we use puede with quién?
Quién means "who." When we ask a question about an unknown single person, we treat quién exactly like "he" (él) or "she" (ella). Because of this, we use the third-person singular form of the verb, which is puede.
Why is explicar not conjugated here?
This is how Spanish handles two verbs working together. When you use a verb like poder (can / to be able to) to talk about an ability, only the first verb gets conjugated (changed to match the subject, like puede). The action verb that follows it stays in its original dictionary form (the infinitive), which is explicar here.
Do I need a connecting word like a or que between puede and explicar?
No! Unlike some other verb pairs you might know—like tener que (to have to) or ir a (to be going to)—the verb poder connects directly to the next verb. You just put them side by side: puede explicar.
Wait, shouldn't words ending in "-a" be feminine? Why is it el problema?
Normally, yes! But problema is one of the most common rule-breakers you will encounter. Many Spanish words that end in -ma (like el problema, el idioma, or el sistema) originally came from Greek and are actually masculine. That is why it uses el instead of la.
Why does Quién have an accent mark over the 'e'?
In Spanish, question words (like qué, cómo, dónde, and quién) always get a written accent mark when they are used to ask a question.

Learn ¿Quién puede explicar el problema and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Spanish →