الرئيسية
من طرف Pouvoir is one of the most common French verbs.
It is irregular in conjugation and
literally means "can" or "to be able to." Pouvoir has different
meanings in certain tenses and is found in numerous expressions.
Ability
In
general, pouvoir means "to be be able to,"
usually translated by "can" or "may"
Il peut le faire
He can do
it
Nous pouvons essayer
We can try.
Puis-je m'asseoir ici ?x
May I sit here?x
Puis is an alternative to peux, the most common first person singular
conjugation.
Puis is usually
used for questions:
Puis-je vous aider ?
May I help you?x
Possibility
Pouvoir can also express possibility or conjecture:
Meaning Changes
In the past tenses, pouvoir
can have different nuances.
In the passé composé , pouvoir means "could"
in the sense of "was able to, managed to,
succeeded in." In the imperfect, pouvoir
also means "could" but only in terms of
ability/possibility; it does not
indicate whether or not the action actually took place.
In the past conditional, pouvoir means "could/might have done" (both ability and
possibility):
In the conditional,
pouvoir is used to express a polite request:
In the subjunctive, pouvoir is a high-register (formal) way to
express a wish:
Il se peut
Il se peut
is an impersonal verb that means "it is possible" and is followed by the subjunctive :
Peut-être
The adverb
peut-être means "perhaps" or "maybe":
Notes
Pouvoir is one of a handful of French verbs that can be made negative with
just ne, rather than ne... pas.
Je ne
peux sortir
I can't go out.
Il ne peut vous aider
He can't
help you.x
It is irregular in conjugation and
literally means "can" or "to be able to." Pouvoir has different
meanings in certain tenses and is found in numerous expressions.
Ability
In
general, pouvoir means "to be be able to,"
usually translated by "can" or "may"
Il peut le faire
He can do
it
Nous pouvons essayer
We can try.
Puis-je m'asseoir ici ?x
May I sit here?x
Puis is an alternative to peux, the most common first person singular
conjugation.
Puis is usually
used for questions:
- Puis-je
vous poser une question ?x
Puis-je vous aider ?
May I help you?x
Possibility
Pouvoir can also express possibility or conjecture:
- Il peut être malade
He might/may be sick.
Tu peux le perdre
You might lose it.x
Meaning Changes
In the past tenses, pouvoir
can have different nuances.
In the passé composé , pouvoir means "could"
in the sense of "was able to, managed to,
succeeded in." In the imperfect, pouvoir
also means "could" but only in terms of
ability/possibility; it does not
indicate whether or not the action actually took place.
- Il a pu le faire - He could (and did) do it.
vs
Il pouvait le faire - He could do it (he was capable).
Je n'ai pas pu sortir - I couldn't (and didn't) go out.
vs
Je ne pouvais pas sortir -
I couldn't go out (it was difficult).x
In the past conditional, pouvoir means "could/might have done" (both ability and
possibility):
- Auriez-vous
pu le faire ?
Could you have
done it?
Il aurait pu
le perdre
He might have lost
it.x
In the conditional,
pouvoir is used to express a polite request:
- Pourriez-vous m'aider ?
Could you help me?
Je pourrais vous poser une question ?
May I ask you a question?x
In the subjunctive, pouvoir is a high-register (formal) way to
express a wish:
- Puisse Dieu vous aider !
May God help you!
Puisse-t-il y réussir !
May he succeed!x
Il se peut
Il se peut
is an impersonal verb that means "it is possible" and is followed by the subjunctive :
- Il se peut qu'elle vienne
It is possible that she will come, She may
come.
Il se peut que
nous soyons en retard
It's possible
that we're late, We might be late.x
Peut-être
The adverb
peut-être means "perhaps" or "maybe":
- Tu vas venir ?
Peut-être
Are you going to come? Maybe.
Nous allons peut-être voir un
film
We might see a movie, Perhaps
we'll see a movie.x
Notes
Pouvoir is one of a handful of French verbs that can be made negative with
just ne, rather than ne... pas.
Je ne
peux sortir
I can't go out.
Il ne peut vous aider
He can't
help you.x
