poder

Senses

1. 1.

   can, to be able to

   to have the ability or capacity to do something

2. 2.

   may, might

   to have permission or possibility

3. 3.

   could (expressing possibility or hypothesis)

   to express a possible but uncertain event

Examples

• "Eu posso falar português e inglês."

  I can speak Portuguese and English.

• "Você pode entrar agora."

  You may enter now.

• "Isso pode acontecer a qualquer momento."

  This could happen at any time.

Usage

*Poder* is a modal verb and is extremely common in Brazilian Portuguese. It expresses ability, permission, and possibility depending on context. Present tense: posso, pode, podemos, podem; past tense: pude, pôde; imperfect: podia. Often used with subjunctive in conditional contexts.