Pouvoir Conjugation in French
pouvoir means “to be able to, can” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 5 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about being able to come tomorrow, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of pouvoir — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je peux venir demain tous les jours.” — “I can come tomorrow every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: pouvoir
- English: to be able to, can
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle
- Gerund: pouvant
- Past participle: pu
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -ir verbs; pattern ir2 in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for pouvoir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read pouvoir in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about pouvoir
- It is irregular in 10 tense(s): present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle pu. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is pouvant and the participle is pu: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for pouvoir. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | peux |
| tu | peux |
| il/elle | peut |
| nous | pouvons |
| vous | pouvez |
| ils/elles | peuvent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With pouvoir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je peux m'aider ce soir tous les jours.” — “I can help me this evening every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pus |
| tu | pus |
| il/elle | put |
| nous | pûmes |
| vous | pûtes |
| ils/elles | purent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. With pouvoir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu pus m'aider ce soir hier.” — “You could help me this evening yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pouvais |
| tu | pouvais |
| il/elle | pouvait |
| nous | pouvions |
| vous | pouviez |
| ils/elles | pouvaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il pouvait m'aider ce soir autrefois.” — “He used to can help me this evening in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pourrai |
| tu | pourras |
| il/elle | pourra |
| nous | pourrons |
| vous | pourrez |
| ils/elles | pourront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. With pouvoir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je pourrai m'aider ce soir demain.” — “I will can help me this evening tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pourrais |
| tu | pourrais |
| il/elle | pourrait |
| nous | pourrions |
| vous | pourriez |
| ils/elles | pourraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. With pouvoir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu pourrais m'aider ce soir un jour.” — “You would can help me this evening one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai pu |
| tu | as pu |
| il/elle | a pu |
| nous | avons pu |
| vous | avez pu |
| ils/elles | ont pu |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a pu m'aider ce soir cette semaine.” — “He has been able to help me this evening this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais pu |
| tu | avais pu |
| il/elle | avait pu |
| nous | avions pu |
| vous | aviez pu |
| ils/elles | avaient pu |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais pu m'aider ce soir avant la fête.” — “I had been able to help me this evening before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai pu |
| tu | auras pu |
| il/elle | aura pu |
| nous | aurons pu |
| vous | aurez pu |
| ils/elles | auront pu |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras pu m'aider ce soir pour demain.” — “You will have been able to help me this evening by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais pu |
| tu | aurais pu |
| il/elle | aurait pu |
| nous | aurions pu |
| vous | auriez pu |
| ils/elles | auraient pu |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait pu m'aider ce soir hier.” — “He would have been able to help me this evening yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | puisse |
| tu | puisses |
| il/elle | puisse |
| nous | puissions |
| vous | puissiez |
| ils/elles | puissent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With pouvoir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que je puisse m'aider ce soir.” — “It is important that I can help me this evening.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pusse |
| tu | pusses |
| il/elle | pût |
| nous | pussions |
| vous | pussiez |
| ils/elles | pussent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. With pouvoir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que tu pusses m'aider ce soir.” — “It is important that you can help me this evening.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | — |
| nous | — |
| vous | — |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. The verified tables give no imperative forms for pouvoir — every person is marked with a dash — so there is no imperative to learn for this verb. Do not invent one: to give an instruction with pouvoir, French speakers use the present tense instead, for example “Tu peux venir demain.” — “You can come tomorrow.”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | — |
| nous | — |
| vous | — |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. The verified tables give no imperative forms for pouvoir — every person is marked with a dash — so there is no imperative to learn for this verb. Do not invent one: to give an instruction with pouvoir, French speakers use the present tense instead, for example “Tu peux venir demain.” — “You can come tomorrow.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en pouvant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En pouvant venir demain, je passe un bon moment.” — “While being able to come tomorrow, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | pu |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai pu venir demain cette semaine.” — “I have been able to come tomorrow this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with pouvoir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je peux venir demain tous les jours.” — “I can come tomorrow every day.”
- “Tu pus m'aider ce soir hier.” — “You could help me this evening yesterday.”
- “Il pouvait parler français autrefois.” — “He used to can speak French in the past.”
- “Je pourrai venir demain demain.” — “I will can come tomorrow tomorrow.”
- “Tu pourrais m'aider ce soir un jour.” — “You would can help me this evening one day.”
- “Il a pu parler français cette semaine.” — “He has been able to speak French this week.”
- “J'avais pu venir demain avant la fête.” — “I had been able to come tomorrow before the party.”
- “Tu auras pu m'aider ce soir pour demain.” — “You will have been able to help me this evening by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il puisse parler français.” — “It is important that he can speak French.”
- “Tu peux venir demain tous les jours.” — “You can come tomorrow every day.”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je pouvoir venir demain.”
✓ Right: “Je peux venir demain.”
The infinitive pouvoir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form peux.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je peuvent venir demain.”
✓ Right: “Je peux venir demain.”
peuvent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with peux.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je pus venir demain tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je peux venir demain tous les jours.”
The passé simple pus describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present peux.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je peux venir demain.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je puisse venir demain.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use puisse here, not the indicative peux.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis pu venir demain.”
✓ Right: “Je ai pu venir demain.”
The passé composé of pouvoir is formed with avoir plus the past participle pu: the je form is ai pu. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “peux” written without its accent
✓ Right: “peux”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on pouvoir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of pouvoir in the Present indicative?
- A) pouvons
- B) pouvez
- C) peux
- D) peut
What is the il/elle form of pouvoir in the Passé simple?
- A) pus
- B) pûmes
- C) pûtes
- D) put
What is the nous form of pouvoir in the Imperfect?
- A) pouviez
- B) pouvions
- C) pouvais
- D) pouvait
What is the tu form of pouvoir in the Future?
- A) pourras
- B) pourrai
- C) pourra
- D) pourrons
What is the je form of pouvoir in the Conditional?
- A) pourrait
- B) pourrions
- C) pourriez
- D) pourrais
What is the il/elle form of pouvoir in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) as pu
- B) avons pu
- C) a pu
- D) ai pu
What is the il/elle form of pouvoir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) puisses
- B) puissions
- C) puissiez
- D) puisse
What is the je form of pouvoir in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) pusse
- B) pusses
- C) pût
- D) pussions
What is the gerund of pouvoir?
- A) en pouvant
- B) en voulant
- C) en sachant
- D) en venant
What does pouvoir mean in English?
- A) to come
- B) to be able to, can
- C) to want
- D) to know
Answer key
- C) peux — the je form of pouvoir in the Present indicative is peux. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) put — the il/elle form of pouvoir in the Passé simple is put. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) pouvions — the nous form of pouvoir in the Imperfect is pouvions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) pourras — the tu form of pouvoir in the Future is pourras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) pourrais — the je form of pouvoir in the Conditional is pourrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) a pu — the il/elle form of pouvoir in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a pu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) puisse — the il/elle form of pouvoir in the Present subjunctive is puisse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) pusse — the je form of pouvoir in the Imperfect subjunctive is pusse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) en pouvant — the gerund of pouvoir is en pouvant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- B) to be able to, can — pouvoir means “to be able to, can” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does pouvoir mean in English?
pouvoir means “to be able to, can”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is pouvoir regular or irregular?
pouvoir is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle. The gerund is pouvant and the past participle is pu.
What are the gerund and past participle of pouvoir?
The gerund is pouvant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is pu — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai pu.
Which auxiliary does pouvoir take in the passé composé?
pouvoir takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai pu. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle pu.
How do I say “I can” in French?
Say “Je peux venir demain tous les jours.” — “I can come tomorrow every day.” The je form of the present is peux, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of pouvoir — every tense of pouvoir in one place.
- Pouvoir in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Pouvoir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Vouloir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Savoir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Venir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise pouvoir with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise pouvoir with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise pouvoir with the interactive tool.