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To be able to in French 🇫🇷


in English in French S
to be able to pouvoir
How to say “to be able to” in French? “Pouvoir”. Here you will learn how to pronounce “pouvoir” correctly and in the comments below you will be able to get all sorts of advice on to be able to in French like tips & tricks to remember it, questions, explanations and more.

French Sentences with the Word “To be able to”

French sentence with “pouvoir” English translation for pouvoir S

Je me sens triste de ne pas pouvoir venir

I feel sad that I can’t come

Je travaille pour pouvoir voyager

I work so I can travel

Comments, Questions, Etc. About To be able to in French

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pouvoir info.

Tips to remember the French word “pouvoir”:
1. Associate “pouvoir” with “power,” since when you’re able to do something, you have the power to do it.
2. Remember the expression “power to the people” and link it to “pouvoir” to recall its meaning.
3. Link it to the superhero word “superpowers,” as superheroes have “le pouvoir” to do extraordinary things.

Explanation:
“Pouvoir” is a modal verb in French that means “to be able to” or “can.” It’s an irregular verb, which means its conjugations don’t follow the regular patterns.

Other words that mean the same thing:
– “Être capable de” (to be capable of)
– “Savoir” is sometimes used interchangeably with “pouvoir” when it means “to know how to” and implies ability.

Pouvoir – Conjugations:
Present:
– je peux (I can)
– tu peux (you can, informal singular)
– il/elle/on peut (he/she/one can)
– nous pouvons (we can)
– vous pouvez (you can, formal singular/plural or informal plural)
– ils/elles peuvent (they can)

Imperfect (imparfait):
– je pouvais (I was able to/I could)
– tu pouvais
– il/elle/on pouvait
– nous pouvions
– vous pouviez
– ils/elles pouvaient

Future simple:
– je pourrai (I will be able to/I will can)
– tu pourras
– il/elle/on pourra
– nous pourrons
– vous pourrez
– ils/elles pourront

Conditional:
– je pourrais (I could/I would be able to)
– tu pourrais
– il/elle/on pourrait
– nous pourrions
– vous pourriez
– ils/elles pourraient

Subjunctive (présent du subjonctif):
– que je puisse (that I can)
– que tu puisses
– qu’il/elle/on puisse
– que nous puissions
– que vous puissiez
– qu’ils/elles puissent

Past historic (passé simple):
– je pus (I could/was able to – formal, literary tense)
– tu pus
– il/elle/on put
– nous pûmes
– vous pûtes
– ils/elles purent

Past participle:
– pu (been able)

Present participle:
– pouvant (being able to)

Examples of sentences using “pouvoir”:
1. Present: Je peux parler français. (I can speak French.)
2. Imperfect: Quand j’étais jeune, je pouvais courir très vite. (When I was young, I could run very fast.)
3. Future simple: Demain, tu pourras essayer mon nouveau vélo. (Tomorrow, you will be able to try my new bike.)
4. Conditional: Je pourrais venir si j’avais le temps. (I could come if I had the time.)
5. Subjunctive: Il faut que je puisse finir ce projet avant vendredi. (I must be able to finish this project before Friday.)

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