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 ?
May I sit here?
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 ?
May I ask you a question?
Puis-je vous aider ?
May I help you?
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.
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).
- Auriez-vous pu le faire ?
Could you have done it?
Il aurait pu le perdre
He might have lost it.
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?
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!
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.
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.
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.
Learn more about this phenomenon, known as the ne littéraire.
Conjugations
Present tense
- je peux, puis
tu peux
il peut
nous pouvons
vous pouvez
ils peuvent
