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Definition 2024
pouvoir
pouvoir
French
Verb
pouvoir
- can, to be able to
- Je peux venir ce soir - I can come this evening
- may
- désastre qui peut nous frapper - disaster which may strike us
Conjugation
Conjugation of pouvoir (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | pouvoir | avoir pu | |||||
| gerund | en pouvant | en ayant pu | |||||
| present participle | pouvant /pu.vɑ̃/ |
||||||
| past participle | pu /py/ |
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| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il | nous | vous | ils | |
| simple tenses |
present | peux /pø/ |
peux /pø/ |
peut /pø/ |
pouvons /pu.vɔ̃/ |
pouvez /pu.ve/ |
peuvent /pœv/ |
| imperfect | pouvais /pu.vɛ/ |
pouvais /pu.vɛ/ |
pouvait /pu.vɛ/ |
pouvions /pu.vjɔ̃/ |
pouviez /pu.vje/ |
pouvaient /pu.vɛ/ |
|
| past historic1 | pus /py/ |
pus /py/ |
put /py/ |
pûmes /pym/ |
pûtes /pyt/ |
purent /pyʁ/ |
|
| future | pourrai /pu.ʁe/ |
pourras /pu.ʁa/ |
pourra /pu.ʁa/ |
pourrons /pu.ʁɔ̃/ |
pourrez /pu.ʁe/ |
pourront /pu.ʁɔ̃/ |
|
| conditional | pourrais /pu.ʁɛ/ |
pourrais /pu.ʁɛ/ |
pourrait /pu.ʁɛ/ |
pourrions /pu.ʁjɔ̃/ |
pourriez /pu.ʁje/ |
pourraient /pu.ʁɛ/ |
|
| compound tenses |
present perfect | Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| past anterior1 | Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il | que nous | que vous | qu’ils | |
| simple tenses |
present | puisse /pɥis/ |
puisses /pɥis/ |
puisse /pɥis/ |
puissions /pɥi.sjɔ̃/ |
puissiez /pɥi.sje/ |
puissent /pɥis/ |
| imperfect1 |
**** /pys/ |
pusses /pys/ |
pût /py/ |
pussions /py.sjɔ̃/ |
pussiez /py.sje/ |
pussent /pys/ |
|
| compound tenses |
past | Use the present subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect1 | Use the imperfect subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nous | vous | – | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1literary tenses | |||||||
Usage notes
- Pouvoir is not used with verbs relating to the five senses:
- I can see you - Je te vois (not Je peux te voir, which is "I can meet you")
- Pouvoir is not used to mean can in the sense of "to know how to". Savoir is used instead.
- I can swim - Je sais nager (not Je peux nager)
- In Belgian French, pouvoir is not used to say someone is capable of something, savoir is also used for that.
- Je ne sais pas dormir. - I am not able to sleep. to a Belgian, I do not know how to sleep. to a Frenchman.
- Je ne peux pas dormir. - I am not allowed to sleep. to a Belgian, I am not able to sleep. to a Frenchman.
- Puis is the first person present indicative form used in inversion and as an archaic variant.
Related terms
Noun
pouvoir m (plural pouvoirs)
- (countable or uncountable) power, a power.
- authority
- (law) power of attorney