Poder Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

poder — to be able to — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Portuguese. It is a irregular -er verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is a modal verb meaning “to be able to” or “can”, and it is always followed by another verb in the infinitive: posso falar português. Its present forms are irregular — posso, podes, pode, podemos, podeis, podem — and its pretérito perfeito changes the stem completely: pude, pudeste, pôde, pudemos, pudestes, puderam. On this page you will find poder in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the poder conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the poder pretérito perfeito tense page.

Example sentences with poder

In the present tense

  • “Eu posso falar português todos os dias.” — “I can speak Portuguese”
  • “Tu podes falar português todos os dias.” — “You can speak Portuguese”
  • “Ele pode falar português todos os dias.” — “He can speak Portuguese”
  • “Nós podemos falar português todos os dias.” — “We can speak Portuguese”
  • “Vós podeis falar português todos os dias.” — “You can speak Portuguese”
  • “Eles podem falar português todos os dias.” — “They can speak Portuguese”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu pude falar português ontem.” — “I could speak Portuguese”
  • “Tu pudeste falar português ontem.” — “You could speak Portuguese”
  • “Ele pôde falar português ontem.” — “He could speak Portuguese”
  • “Nós pudemos falar português ontem.” — “We could speak Portuguese”
  • “Vós pudestes falar português ontem.” — “You could speak Portuguese”
  • “Eles puderam falar português ontem.” — “They could speak Portuguese”

In other tenses

The same verb in the pretérito imperfeito, the futuro do presente, the futuro do pretérito, the presente do subjuntivo and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Eu podia falar português antigamente.” — “I used to be able to speak Portuguese”
  • “Tu poderás falar português amanhã.” — “You will be able to speak Portuguese”
  • “Ele poderia falar português um dia.” — “He would be able to speak Portuguese”
  • “É importante que nós possamos falar português.” — “It is important that we be able to speak Portuguese”
  • “Pode falar português!” — “Be able to speak Portuguese!”

How poder is used

The first thing to know about poder is its core meaning: to be able to. It is a modal verb meaning “to be able to” or “can”, and it is always followed by another verb in the infinitive: posso falar português. Its present forms are irregular — posso, podes, pode, podemos, podeis, podem — and its pretérito perfeito changes the stem completely: pude, pudeste, pôde, pudemos, pudestes, puderam. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the pretérito perfeito, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company poder keeps. The present eu form is posso, and it pairs naturally with the time words todos os dias and sempre for habits, and with agora for what is happening right now. The pretérito perfeito composto eu form is tenho podido, and it pairs with ontem and esta semana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what poder does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need posso, never poder. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho podido, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle podido is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Poder in context

Eu posso falar português todos os dias. Tu podes falar português todos os dias. Ele pode falar português todos os dias. Nós podemos falar português todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of poder is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — posso, podes, pode, podemos — while the meaning stays the same: to be able to. Eu pude falar português ontem. Tu pudeste falar português ontem. Ele pôde falar português ontem. Nós pudemos falar português ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of poder appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to be able to — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Eu poder falar português.”

✓ Right: “Eu posso falar português todos os dias.”

The infinitive poder never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form posso.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu podes falar português.”

✓ Right: “Eu posso falar português todos os dias.”

podes is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is posso — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu posso falar português ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu pude falar português ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito pude here, not the present posso.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou podido falar português.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho podido falar português esta semana.”

poder takes ter in the pretérito perfeito composto. The eu form is tenho podido — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on poder across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of poder in the Present indicative (presente)?

    • A) posso
    • B) podes
    • C) pode
    • D) podemos

  2. What is the eu form of poder in the Pretérito perfeito composto?

    • A) tens podido
    • B) tem podido
    • C) tenho podido
    • D) temos podido

  3. What is the ele/ela form of poder in the Pretérito imperfeito?

    • A) podias
    • B) podíamos
    • C) podíeis
    • D) podia

  4. What is the nós form of poder in the Futuro do presente?

    • A) poderemos
    • B) poderei
    • C) poderás
    • D) poderá

  5. What is the tu form of poder in the Futuro do pretérito?

    • A) poderia
    • B) poderias
    • C) poderíamos
    • D) poderíeis

  6. What is the eu form of poder in the Pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples?

    • A) puderas
    • B) pudéramos
    • C) pudera
    • D) pudéreis

  7. What is the nós form of poder in the Presente do subjuntivo?

    • A) possa
    • B) possas
    • C) possais
    • D) possamos

  8. What is the gerund of poder?

    • A) podendo
    • B) podido
    • C) poder
    • D) posso

  9. What is the past participle of poder?

    • A) podendo
    • B) podido
    • C) poder
    • D) posso

  10. What does poder mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to be able to
  • D) —

Answer key

  1. B) podes — the correct form is podes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho podido — the correct form is tenho podido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) podia — the correct form is podia. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) poderemos — the correct form is poderemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) poderias — the correct form is poderias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) pudera — the correct form is pudera. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) possamos — the correct form is possamos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) podendo — the correct form is podendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) podido — the correct form is podido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to be able to — the correct form is to be able to. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does poder mean in English?

poder means “to be able to”. You use it whenever you talk about to be able to in Portuguese, in the present, the past and the future.

Is poder regular or irregular?

poder is irregular. poder is irregular in presente, pretérito perfeito, pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples, presente do subjuntivo, pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo, futuro do subjuntivo, imperativo afirmativo, imperativo negativo — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of poder?

The gerund is podendo and the past participle is podido. The perfect tenses use ter + podido.

Where can I see the full conjugation of poder?

On the poder conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The poder pretérito perfeito tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for poder, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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