Present — what is happening now, and what happens habitually
yo
puedoI can
nosotros
podemoswe can
tú
puedesyou can
vosotros
podéisyou all can
él/ella/Ud.
puedehe/she can
ellos/Uds.
puedenthey can
Pretérito perfecto
Present perfect — have —ed; a past still touching now. Spain: today, this week. Latin America: mostly the indefinido instead
yo
he podidoI have been able to
nosotros
hemos podidowe have been able to
tú
has podidoyou have been able to
vosotros
habéis podidoyou all have been able to
él/ella/Ud.
ha podidohe/she has been able to
ellos/Uds.
han podidothey have been able to
Presente de subjuntivo
Present subjunctive — after que with wishes, doubt, emotion, ojalá
yo
pueda(that) I can
nosotros
podamos(that) we can
tú
puedas(that) you can
vosotros
podáis(that) you all can
él/ella/Ud.
pueda(that) he/she can
ellos/Uds.
puedan(that) they can
Perfecto de subjuntivo
Present perfect subjunctive — have —ed, under doubt or emotion: no creo que haya venido
yo
haya podido(that) I have been able to
nosotros
hayamos podido(that) we have been able to
tú
hayas podido(that) you have been able to
vosotros
hayáis podido(that) you all have been able to
él/ella/Ud.
haya podido(that) he/she has been able to
ellos/Uds.
hayan podido(that) they have been able to
Pasadowhat went on
Pretérito indefinido
Preterite — a finished past action — it started, it ended
yo
pudeI could
nosotros
pudimoswe could
tú
pudisteyou could
vosotros
pudisteisyou all could
él/ella/Ud.
pudohe/she could
ellos/Uds.
pudieronthey could
Pretérito imperfecto
Imperfect — used to / was —ing; background, habits, descriptions
yo
podíaI used to be able to
nosotros
podíamoswe used to be able to
tú
podíasyou used to be able to
vosotros
podíaisyou all used to be able to
él/ella/Ud.
podíahe/she used to be able to
ellos/Uds.
podíanthey used to be able to
Pretérito pluscuamperfecto
Past perfect — had —ed; further back than another past event
yo
había podidoI had been able to
nosotros
habíamos podidowe had been able to
tú
habías podidoyou had been able to
vosotros
habíais podidoyou all had been able to
él/ella/Ud.
había podidohe/she had been able to
ellos/Uds.
habían podidothey had been able to
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-ra)
Imperfect subjunctive — si clauses and past-tense wishes: si tuviera, quería que fuera
yo
pudiera(that) I could
nosotros
pudiéramos(that) we could
tú
pudieras(that) you could
vosotros
pudierais(that) you all could
él/ella/Ud.
pudiera(that) he/she could
ellos/Uds.
pudieran(that) they could
Imperfecto de subjuntivo (-se)
Imperfect subjunctive — the same tense, second form; commoner in Spain and in writing
yo
pudiese(that) I could
nosotros
pudiésemos(that) we could
tú
pudieses(that) you could
vosotros
pudieseis(that) you all could
él/ella/Ud.
pudiese(that) he/she could
ellos/Uds.
pudiesen(that) they could
Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo
Past perfect subjunctive — had —ed, hypothetically: si hubiera sabido
yo
hubiera podido(that) I had been able to
nosotros
hubiéramos podido(that) we had been able to
tú
hubieras podido(that) you had been able to
vosotros
hubierais podido(that) you all had been able to
él/ella/Ud.
hubiera podido(that) he/she had been able to
ellos/Uds.
hubieran podido(that) they had been able to
Pretérito anterior
Preterite perfect — had —ed, immediately before; literary, all but extinct
yo
hube podidoI had been able to
nosotros
hubimos podidowe had been able to
tú
hubiste podidoyou had been able to
vosotros
hubisteis podidoyou all had been able to
él/ella/Ud.
hubo podidohe/she had been able to
ellos/Uds.
hubieron podidothey had been able to
Futurowhat will or would go on
Futuro simple
Future — will — (spoken Spanish often prefers voy a + infinitivo)
yo
podréI will be able to
nosotros
podremoswe will be able to
tú
podrásyou will be able to
vosotros
podréisyou all will be able to
él/ella/Ud.
podráhe/she will be able to
ellos/Uds.
podránthey will be able to
Condicional simple
Conditional — would —; also softens a request into politeness
yo
podríaI would be able to
nosotros
podríamoswe would be able to
tú
podríasyou would be able to
vosotros
podríaisyou all would be able to
él/ella/Ud.
podríahe/she would be able to
ellos/Uds.
podríanthey would be able to
Futuro perfecto
Future perfect — will have —ed; done by some future point
yo
habré podidoI will have been able to
nosotros
habremos podidowe will have been able to
tú
habrás podidoyou will have been able to
vosotros
habréis podidoyou all will have been able to
él/ella/Ud.
habrá podidohe/she will have been able to
ellos/Uds.
habrán podidothey will have been able to
Condicional perfecto
Conditional perfect — would have —ed; the road not taken
yo
habría podidoI would have been able to
nosotros
habríamos podidowe would have been able to
tú
habrías podidoyou would have been able to
vosotros
habríais podidoyou all would have been able to
él/ella/Ud.
habría podidohe/she would have been able to
ellos/Uds.
habrían podidothey would have been able to
Futuro de subjuntivo
Future subjunctive — legal and proverbial only: adonde fueres, haz lo que vieres
yo
pudiere(should) I be able to
nosotros
pudiéremos(should) we be able to
tú
pudieres(should) you be able to
vosotros
pudiereis(should) you all be able to
él/ella/Ud.
pudiere(should) he/she be able to
ellos/Uds.
pudieren(should) they be able to
Imperativotelling someone to
Imperativo afirmativo
Imperative (do it) — orders and requests; there is no yo form
yo
—
nosotros
podamoslet's be able to
tú
puedebe able to!
vosotros
podedbe able to!
él/ella/Ud.
puedabe able to!
ellos/Uds.
puedanbe able to!
Imperativo negativo
Imperative (don't) — no + subjunctive — never the affirmative form with no in front
yo
—
nosotros
no podamoslet's not be able to
tú
no puedasdon't be able to
vosotros
no podáisdon't be able to
él/ella/Ud.
no puedadon't be able to
ellos/Uds.
no puedandon't be able to
PresenteNo puedo abrir esta ventana.I can't open this window.
Presente de subjuntivoDudo que puedan llegar a tiempo.I doubt they can arrive on time.
Pretérito indefinidoAl final pudimos entrar.In the end we managed to get in.
Pretérito imperfectoDe pequeño no podía dormir solo.As a child I couldn't sleep alone.
Futuro simplePodrás descansar mañana.You'll be able to rest tomorrow.
Condicional simple¿Podrías ayudarme un momento?Could you help me for a moment?
An o→ue boot verb: the change hits yo/tú/él/ellos but skips nosotros and vosotros — that gap is the 'boot'. The preterite is strong (pude, not *podí) and often means 'managed to'; the negative pudo means 'failed to'.
Imagen.La cima del monte Amphitheater alzándose sobre las nubes — traducido de Amphitheater Mountain summit rising above the clouds (YellowstoneNPS · flickr · PDM)
La cima del monte Amphitheater alzándose sobre las nubes — Amphitheater Mountain summit rising above the clouds · fuente
Red = the form breaks the regular pattern. Everything in black you could have worked out from the endings alone.
he, she, you (formal) — one other person — formal you shares it
Presente
puedehe/she can
Perfecto
ha podidohe/she has been able to
Subj. presente
pueda(that) he/she can
Subj. perfecto
haya podido(that) he/she has been able to
Futuro
podráhe/she will be able to
Condicional
podríahe/she would be able to
Fut. perfecto
habrá podidohe/she will have been able to
Cond. perfecto
habría podidohe/she would have been able to
Subj. futuro
pudiere(should) he/she be able to
Indefinido
pudohe/she could
Imperfecto
podíahe/she used to be able to
Pluscuamp.
había podidohe/she had been able to
Subj. imperf.
pudiera(that) he/she could
Subj. -se
pudiese(that) he/she could
Subj. pluscuamp.
hubiera podido(that) he/she had been able to
Pret. anterior
hubo podidohe/she had been able to
Imperativo
puedabe able to!
Imper. negativo
no puedadon't be able to
ellos / ellas / ustedes
they, you all — several others — plural you shares it
Presente
puedenthey can
Perfecto
han podidothey have been able to
Subj. presente
puedan(that) they can
Subj. perfecto
hayan podido(that) they have been able to
Futuro
podránthey will be able to
Condicional
podríanthey would be able to
Fut. perfecto
habrán podidothey will have been able to
Cond. perfecto
habrían podidothey would have been able to
Subj. futuro
pudieren(should) they be able to
Indefinido
pudieronthey could
Imperfecto
podíanthey used to be able to
Pluscuamp.
habían podidothey had been able to
Subj. imperf.
pudieran(that) they could
Subj. -se
pudiesen(that) they could
Subj. pluscuamp.
hubieran podido(that) they had been able to
Pret. anterior
hubieron podidothey had been able to
Imperativo
puedanbe able to!
Imper. negativo
no puedandon't be able to
PresenteNo puedo abrir esta ventana.I can't open this window.
Presente de subjuntivoDudo que puedan llegar a tiempo.I doubt they can arrive on time.
Pretérito indefinidoAl final pudimos entrar.In the end we managed to get in.
Pretérito imperfectoDe pequeño no podía dormir solo.As a child I couldn't sleep alone.
Futuro simplePodrás descansar mañana.You'll be able to rest tomorrow.
Condicional simple¿Podrías ayudarme un momento?Could you help me for a moment?
An o→ue boot verb: the change hits yo/tú/él/ellos but skips nosotros and vosotros — that gap is the 'boot'. The preterite is strong (pude, not *podí) and often means 'managed to'; the negative pudo means 'failed to'.
Imagen.La cima del monte Amphitheater alzándose sobre las nubes — traducido de Amphitheater Mountain summit rising above the clouds (YellowstoneNPS · flickr · PDM)
La cima del monte Amphitheater alzándose sobre las nubes — Amphitheater Mountain summit rising above the clouds · fuente
Red = the form breaks the regular pattern. Everything in black you could have worked out from the endings alone.
