French Power Verb Pouvoir – It gives you power to start speaking!
The French power verb pouvoir means to be able – can. Using this verb in the conditional tense is a way to speak politely in French. Like many verbs, pouvoir can be followed directly by an infinitive.
I like to call pouvoir a “power verb” because it gives you the power to start speaking! You can easily follow the verb pouvoir directly with any infinitive.
Watch my video lesson on pouvoir at the bottom of this lesson to see it in “power verb” action! You can download a free PDF of this lesson guide in my private French Grammar Library.
Pouvoir: Present tense conjugation
| Je peux I can | Nous pouvons We can |
| Tu peux You can | Vous pouvez You can |
| Il – Elle – On peut He – She – One can *ON PEUT also means WE CAN | Ils – Elles peuvent They can |
Pouvoir: Conditional tense conjugation
| Je pourrais I could | Nous pourrions We could |
| Tu pourrais You could | Vous pourriez You could |
| Il – Elle – On pourrait He – She – One could *ON POURRAIT also means WE COULD | Ils – Elles pourraient They could |
Examples
Je
| Je peux manger. | I can eat. |
| Je ne peux pas manger. | I can’t eat. |
| Je pourrais manger. | I could eat. |
| Je ne pourrais pas manger. | I would not be able to eat. |
Tu
| Tu peux voyager. | You can travel. |
| Tu ne peux pas voyager. | You can’t travel. |
| Tu pourrais voyager. | You could travel. |
| Tu ne pourrais pas voyager. | You would not be able to travel. |
Il / Elle / On
| Il peut travailler. | He can work. |
| Il ne peut pas travailler. | He can’t work. |
| Il pourrait travailler. | He would be able to work. |
| Il ne pourrait pas travailler. | He would not be able to work. |
Nous
| Nous pouvons dormir. | We can sleep. |
| Nous ne pouvons pas dormir. | We can’t sleep. |
| Nous pourrions dormir. | We would be able to sleep. |
| Nous ne pourrions pas dormir. | We would not be able to sleep. |
Vous
| Vous pouvez choisir. | You can choose. |
| Vous ne pouvez pas choisir. | You can’t choose. |
| Vous pourriez choisir. | You would be able to choose. |
| Vous ne pourriez pas choisir. | You would not be able to choose. |
Ils / Elles
| Ils peuvent gagner. | They can win. |
| Ils ne peuvent pas gagner. | They can’t win. |
| Ils pourraient gagner. | They could win. |
| Ils ne pourraient pas gagner. | They would not be able to win. |
