poder means: to be able
Click to see all conjugation charts of poder in every tense

In this Spanish conjugation lesson we will learn how to conjugate the verb poder in the Pretérito tense of the Indicativo mood. It means we will see step by step how to create and translate forms of each grammatical person.

This lesson is specifically about the poder conjugation. For a general overview of all the Simple Tenses conjugation see our Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.

You may also see this Video Presentation on how to conjugate verbs in Pretérito. It’s embedded below, but using the above link you may get additional information on conjugation in this tense as well as explanation of special cases and exceptions.

How to translate Pretérito to English

Note that the English phrases provided below next to each conjugation are not direct translations from Spanish to English. They are usually the closest general equivalents. The example differences are:

• In Spanish conjugation, there is the form usted in the third person singular. But this person does not translate to the English third person singular. It translates to the so called formal you and uses the inflected form which is most often represented as he/she/it in English conjugation charts.
• Similar situation happens in the third person plural, where ustedes translates to the English plural formal you but uses the form which corresponds to the they form in English.
• Tenses are used differently in Spanish and English, so the actual translation should always take into account the context and focus on translating the meaning, not just words.
• In both languages each verb may have multiple meanings and not every meaning translates directly to the other language. Here also, the context and focusing on the particular meaning helps to create the most accurate translation.

Note the timeline

The ability to accurately locate the desired position on the timeline is an important skill for proper choice of tenses. So pay attention to the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while speaking, listening, writing and reading. After some practice you’ll be capable of selecting the right tense to use much easier.

Step by step instructions

Pretérito belongs to the simple tenses group, which means that all of the conjugated forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in the Spanish language, where each inflected verb form consists of two words. The verb poder has an irregular conjugation in the Pretérito tense of the Indicativo mood. This verb belongs to the group which in the Pretérito Perfecto Simple tense conjugates based on an irregular stem, common to each grammatical person.

This group also uses specific endings for each person, but these endings very often happen to match the regular ones.The basis for this conjugation is an irregular stem pudUse the stem pud in each person Next, add to this irregular stem the endings specific to each person. There are a few irregular among these Add an irregular ending -e for the first person singular. It is irregular here, but it’s also typical for all the verbs with irregular conjugation in this tense Add an ending -iste for the second person singular. It is typical for all the verbs conjugating irregularly in this tense, but it so happens that in case of this person it is exactly the same as in regular conjugation of the entire -er verb group Add an irregular ending -o for the third person singular. Once more, it is irregular here, but it’s also typical for all the verbs with irregular conjugation in this tense Add an ending -imos for the first person plural. Also as in the previous case, it is typical for all the verbs conjugating irregularly in this tense, but it so happens that in case of this person it is exactly the same as in regular conjugation of the entire -er verb group Add an ending -isteis for the second person plural. Similarly, it is typical for all the verbs conjugating irregularly in this tense, but it so happens that in case of this person it is exactly the same as in regular conjugation of the entire -er verb group Add an ending -ieron for the third person plural. And one more time, it is typical for all the verbs conjugating irregularly in this tense, but it so happens that in case of this person it is exactly the same as in regular conjugation of the entire -er verb group
This is it! The conjugation is now done. That’s the final result:

yo	pude	I was able
tú	pudiste	you were able
él/ella/usted	pudo	he/she/it was able
nosotros/nosotras	pudimos	we were able
vosotros/vosotras	pudisteis	you were able
ellos/ellas/ustedes	pudieron	they were able

Click to see all conjugation charts of poder in every tense
But do not end your session yet – it’s important to repeat and practice the material in order to remember it. Check below for and some links.

Example sentences

Next Steps to Perfection To practice this conjugation and test your knowledge try this Conjugation Exercise or the Memory Game To see other conjugation lessons for this verb choose another tense: PresenteImperfectoCondicionalFuturoPretérito Perfecto CompuestoPretérito PluscuamperfectoFuturo PerfectoCondicional PerfectoPretérito Perfecto Compuesto (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto A (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto B (subjuntivo)Futuro Perfecto (subjuntivo)  For exercises and examples related to poder visit our Exercise section To see conjugation charts in all tenses for poder visit the Conjugator To explore other learning materials visit the Study section

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