Preterite forms of poder  



Gramática
The verb poder (to be able) is irregular
The stem changes in the preterite tense.

o changes to u

The preterite tense endings are:

e
iste
o
imos
isteis
ieron

Preterite tense forms of poder (to be able)

yo pude (I was able) nosotros pudimos (we were able)
tú pudiste (you were able) vosotros pudisteis (you guys were able)
Ud./él/ella pudo (you were able, he/she was able) Uds./ellos/ ellas pudieron (you all/they were able)

Sentences with poder

No pude acostarme a las nueve porque tenía mucha tarea para hacer. - I couldn't go to bed at nine o'clock because I had a lot of homework to do.
No pude ver la película porque tuve que acostarme temprano. - I wasn't able to see the movie because I had to go to bed early.
Quería acostarme más temprano pero no pude. - I wanted to go to bed earlier but I couldn't.
Anoche yo quise acostarme temprano pero no pude porque tuve que hacer mis tareas. - Last night I wanted to go to bed early but I couldn't because I had to do my homework.
No me pude acostar más temprano porque tuve que hacer muchas tareas. - I couldn't go to bed earlier because I had to do a lot of homework.

¿Pudiste hacer tus tareas esta tarde? - Were you able to do your homework this afternoon?
¿Pudiste cambiar la llanta? - Were you able to change the tire?
¿Pudiste sacar las otras tuercas? - Were you able to take off the other nuts?
¿ Pudiste ir a la tienda ayer? - Were you able to go to the store yesterday?
¿Pudiste ayudar a Juan? - Were you able to help John?

Ana no pudo visitar a su abuela el año pasado. - Anna couldn't visit her grandmother last year.
Ellos le hicieron una oferta que no pudo rechazar. - They made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
Pablo no pudo situar Noruega en el mapa. - Pablo couldn't find Norway on the map.
Ella no pudo mantener la fiesta en secreto. - She couldn't keep the party a secret.
Ella no pudo levantar su maleta porque era demasiada pesada. - She couldn't lift her suitcase because it was too heavy.

María quería los boletos pero no pudimos traerlos. - Mary wanted the tickets but we couldn't bring them.
Nosotros no los pudimos traer. - We couldn't bring them.
María quería las maletas pero no pudimos llevarlas. - Mary wanted the suitcases but we couldn't carry them.
Nosotros no pudimos ayudar a María. - We weren't able to help Mary.
Tuvimos mucho que hacer y no pudimos ir a la fiesta. - We had lots to do and couldn’t go to the party.

Ellos no los pudieron traer. - They couldn't bring them.
¿La pudieron ayudar ustedes? - Were you all able to help her?
¿Sabes si los muchachos pudieron ayudar a la señora García? - Do you know if the boys were able to help Mrs. Garcia?
Ellos no la pudieron ayudar esta mañana. - They couldn't help her this morning.
Yo no sé si los muchachos pudieron ayudar a la señora García esta mañana. - I don't know if the boys were able to help Mrs. Garcia this morning.

Notes for the Tutor

  • The student should repeat these simple sentences to practice vocabulary and improve pronunciation.
  • The tutor should ask the student questions that use PODER in the preterite and present.
  • Suggested Homework: The student should make 5 or more sentences with PODER. The student should begin memorizing the conjugation of PODER in the preterite.

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