Line drawing of poder
Coloured illustration of poder
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Translation

to be able to, can; may

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Word origin

From Vulgar Latin potere, which replaced classical Latin posse ('to be able').

Origin
Latin
Root
potere
English cognates
potent, power, possible

Grammar

Verb typeirregular

Irregular verb. A full conjugation table for irregular verbs is coming soon. For now, use a reference like Wordreference or RAE.

Examples

?

Can you help me?

.

I cannot go out today.

.

Could be. / Maybe.

Where this fits

Used in

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Portuguese · Free printables

poder: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Portuguese word "poder" (to be able to, can; may): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

This word is taught in chapter 1, lesson 7: poder, muito, ir and 11 more words.