The verb pouvoir can be used in several contexts in French - let's take a closer look at them.
French
English
You can go to the party.
Tu peux aller à la fête.
Usage in the Sentence
Rule 1: The verb pouvoir is followed by an infinitive and means “can”, in the sense of:
- to have permission to
French
English
On peut fumer ici.
You can smoke here.
- having the opportunity to do something.
French
English
Il peut jouer au foot pendant des heures.
He can play football for hours.
Pouvoir and Politeness
Rule 2: The verb pouvoir is is often used in the French language as a way to express politeness:
French
English
Pouvez-vous m'aider ?
Could you please help me?
Je suis désolé, je ne peux pas venir à la fête demain.
I'm sorry, I can't come to the party tomorrow.
It can also be used in place of the English "May I?" However, depending on the form you put the verb pouvoir in, you can achieve different levels of formality.
- For example, je puis or puis-je will be very formal and even old-fashioned:
French
English
Puis-je vous aider ?
May I help you?
- Using the conditional mood in the present tense or even the presente indicative tense is much more common today:
French
English
Pourrais-je vous aider ? / Est-ce que je peux vous aider ?
May I help you?
Look Out!
Rule 3: Be careful, for a skill, we use savoir:
French
English
Il ne sait pas nager.
He can't swim.
Conjugation
Rule 4: The verb pouvoir is a common French verb, but is irregular. Here is how it's conjugated in the present:
| je | peux |
| tu | peux |
| il, elle, on | peut |
| nous | pouvons |
| vous | pouvez |
| ils, elles | peuvent |
| je | peux |
| tu | peux |
| il, elle, on | peut |
| nous | pouvons |
| vous | pouvez |
| ils, elles | peuvent |
Quiz
1/3
Je _ vous aider avec les devoirs.
0
correct answers.