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SpanishConjugationPreterite

Poder (to be able to) · Preterite

By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated

Poder in the Spanish preterite (pretérito indefinido) is: yo pude, tú pudiste, él/ella/usted pudo, nosotros/as pudimos, vosotros/as pudisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes pudieron. The preterite of poder often means 'managed to' or 'succeeded in' — 'pude abrir la puerta' = 'I managed to open the door'. In the negative, 'no pude' usually means 'I couldn't / failed to'. This meaning-shift is part of the 'verbs that change in the preterite' family.

poder conjugation in the Preterite (Pretérito indefinido)
To Be AblePoder
I could
yo pude
you could
tú pudiste
he/she could
él/ella/usted pudo
we could
nosotros/as pudimos
you could
vosotros/as pudisteis
they could
ellos/ellas/ustedes pudieron
Examples

Poder (to be able to) in context

Sentences that use poder in the preterite. Tap each to hear it.

Pude terminar el proyecto a tiempo.

I managed to finish the project on time.

¿Pudiste dormir bien anoche?

Did you manage to sleep well last night?

Mi padre no pudo asistir a la boda.

My father couldn't attend the wedding.

Pudimos ver el atardecer desde la montaña.

We managed to see the sunset from the mountain.

¿Pudisteis contactar con el médico?

Did you manage to contact the doctor?

Los alpinistas pudieron llegar a la cima.

The climbers managed to reach the summit.

Tip

Working with the preterite

The preterite describes a finished past action with a clear boundary — "ayer comí pizza" (yesterday I ate pizza). The key contrast is with the imperfect, which describes ongoing or repeated past actions without a defined endpoint. If you can substitute "used to" or "was doing" in English, you usually want the imperfect; if the action is one-and-done, you want the preterite. The irregular preterites (fui, hice, dije, tuve, vine, supe) are the highest-frequency in Spanish — front-load them.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How do you conjugate poder in the preterite?
The preterite of poder is: yo pude, tú pudiste, él/ella/usted pudo, nosotros/as pudimos, vosotros/as pudisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes pudieron. The stem switches to 'pud-' across all persons — part of the pretérito grave family alongside saber (supe), tener (tuve), and poner (puse).
Why does 'pude' mean 'managed to' instead of 'could'?
Poder is one of the meaning-shift preterite verbs. The imperfect 'podía' means 'was able to / had the ability' (without confirming the action happened). The preterite 'pude' carries the implication that the ability was exercised: 'pude abrir la puerta' implies the door did open. In the negative, 'no pude' implies failure: 'no pude abrirla' = I tried and failed. This contrast is one of the most-tested past-tense distinctions on Spanish proficiency exams.
Should I use 'pude' (preterite) or 'podía' (imperfect)?
Use 'pude' for completed attempts with a result: 'Ayer pude llamarte' (Yesterday I managed to call you — and I did). Use 'podía' for ongoing past ability: 'De niño, podía correr muy rápido' (As a child, I could run very fast — habitual ability). 'Podía haber...' (I could have...) is the imperfect; 'pude haber...' is rare and dialectal.
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More tenses of Poder (To Be Able To)

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Poder (to be able to) · Present
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Poder (to be able to) · Imperfect

More verbs in preterite

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