Potere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian
potere — to be able to — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere 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. It has no imperative of its own in everyday use, and its present forms are irregular, so learn them as a set. On this page you will find potere 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 potere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the potere passato prossimo tense page.
Example sentences with potere
In the present tense
- “Io posso italiano ogni giorno.” — “I can speak Italian”
- “Tu puoi italiano ogni giorno.” — “You can speak Italian”
- “Lui può italiano ogni giorno.” — “He can speak Italian”
- “Noi possiamo italiano ogni giorno.” — “We can speak Italian”
- “Voi potete italiano ogni giorno.” — “You can speak Italian”
- “Loro possono italiano ogni giorno.” — “They can speak Italian”
In the passato prossimo
- “Io ho potuto italiano questa settimana.” — “I have been able to speak Italian”
- “Tu hai potuto italiano questa settimana.” — “You have been able to speak Italian”
- “Lui ha potuto italiano questa settimana.” — “He has been able to speak Italian”
- “Noi abbiamo potuto italiano questa settimana.” — “We have been able to speak Italian”
- “Voi avete potuto italiano questa settimana.” — “You have been able to speak Italian”
- “Loro hanno potuto italiano questa settimana.” — “They have been able to speak Italian”
In other tenses
The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.
- “Io potevo italiano una volta.” — “I used to can speak Italian”
- “Tu potrai italiano domani.” — “You will can speak Italian”
- “Lui potrebbe italiano un giorno.” — “He would can speak Italian”
- “È importante che noi possiamo italiano.” — “It is important that we can speak Italian”
- “— italiano!” — “Can speak Italian!”
How potere is used
The first thing to know about potere 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. It has no imperative of its own in everyday use, and its present forms are irregular, so learn them as a set. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, 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 potere keeps. The present io form is posso, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is ho potuto, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana 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 potere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need posso, never potere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho potuto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle potuto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.
Potere in context
Io posso italiano ogni giorno. Tu puoi italiano ogni giorno. Lui può italiano ogni giorno. Noi possiamo italiano ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of potere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — posso, puoi, può, possiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to be able to. Io ho potuto italiano questa settimana. Tu hai potuto italiano questa settimana. Lui ha potuto italiano questa settimana. Noi abbiamo potuto italiano questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of potere 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: “Io potere italiano.”
✓ Right: “Io posso italiano ogni giorno.”
The infinitive potere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form posso.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Io puoi italiano.”
✓ Right: “Io posso italiano ogni giorno.”
puoi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is posso — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io posso italiano ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho potuto italiano questa settimana.”
Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho potuto here, not the present posso.
4. Mixing up the auxiliary
✗ Wrong: “Io sono potuto italiano.”
✓ Right: “Io ho potuto italiano questa settimana.”
potere takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho potuto — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on potere across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.
What is the tu form of potere in the Present indicative?
- A) posso
- B) puoi
- C) può
- D) possiamo
What is the io form of potere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) hai potuto
- B) ha potuto
- C) ho potuto
- D) abbiamo potuto
What is the lui/lei form of potere in the Imperfect?
- A) potevo
- B) potevi
- C) potevamo
- D) poteva
What is the noi form of potere in the Future?
- A) potremo
- B) potrò
- C) potrai
- D) potrà
What is the tu form of potere in the Conditional?
- A) potrei
- B) potresti
- C) potrebbe
- D) potremmo
What is the io form of potere in the Passato remoto?
- A) potesti
- B) poté
- C) potei
- D) potemmo
What is the noi form of potere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) possa
- B) possiate
- C) possano
- D) possiamo
What is the gerund of potere?
- A) potendo
- B) potuto
- C) potere
- D) posso
What is the past participle of potere?
- A) potendo
- B) potuto
- C) potere
- D) posso
What does potere mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to be able to
- D) to do, to make
Answer key
- B) puoi — the correct form is puoi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ho potuto — the correct form is ho potuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) poteva — the correct form is poteva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) potremo — the correct form is potremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) potresti — the correct form is potresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) potei — the correct form is potei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) possiamo — the correct form is possiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) potendo — the correct form is potendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) potuto — the correct form is potuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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 potere mean in English?
potere means “to be able to”. You use it whenever you talk about to be able to in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.
Is potere regular or irregular?
potere is irregular. potere is irregular in present, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative — learn those forms as a set.
What are the gerund and past participle of potere?
The gerund is potendo and the past participle is potuto. The perfect tenses use avere + potuto.
Where can I see the full conjugation of potere?
On the potere conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The potere passato prossimo 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 potere, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- potere conjugation — full tables
- potere in the passato prossimo tense
- Italian passato prossimo tense guide — the full guide to the passato prossimo tense in Italian.
- Italian irregular verbs — every common irregular Italian verb, grouped by pattern.
- Essere conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Avere conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Quiz — practise potere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise potere with the interactive tool.
- Verb Conjugator — practise potere with the interactive tool.