Poder preterite conjugation
Poder in the preterite: pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron.
- to be able to; can; may
- stem-changing (o→ue)
- Participle: podido
- Gerund: pudiendo
Preterite pretérito
| yo | pude |
|---|---|
| tú | pudiste |
| él/ella/usted | pudo |
| nosotros | pudimos |
| vosotros | pudisteis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | pudieron |
How to use poder in the preterite
The preterite of poder is irregular: pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudieron, with no written accents. Its meaning shifts: affirmative pude means "I managed to," while "no pude" means "I tried and failed." Compare "no podía" (imperfect), which simply describes an inability without saying whether you tried. This contrast comes up often in work updates.
Examples
No pude terminar el informe a tiempo.
I couldn't finish the report on time.
Pudimos negociar un mejor precio.
We managed to negotiate a better price.
¿Pudiste hablar con el abogado?
Did you get to talk to the lawyer?
Quick check: poder in the preterite
More poder tenses
- All poder tenses
- Poder present
- Poder imperfect
- Poder future
- Poder conditional
- Poder present subjunctive
- Poder affirmative commands
Other verbs in the preterite
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