222 - How to Conjugate "Pouvoir" (To Be Able To) in French (Imperfect Tense)

 
 

In this episode, you'll learn how to conjugate the French verb pouvoir (to be able to) in the imperfect tense.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Links & Cheat Sheet:

Transcript

Hello everyone! Bonjour tout le monde. 🖤

Welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast. This is episode 222, numéro 222 !

Today, we're continuing our conjugation series in the imperfect tense, or l'imparfait. And this time, we're learning how to conjugate another really useful verb: "pouvoir", which means to be able to, or can.

Now, if you'd like a little refresher on "pouvoir" first, I covered the present tense back in episode 31, and the future tense in episode 116. So feel free to listen to those after this lesson.

As always, if you're new to the podcast — welcome! Make sure you've got your lesson's cheat sheet ready so you can follow along as you listen. And after this lesson, you can practise what you've learned inside the French Made Easy Exercise Library. You'll find all the links in the episode notes — it's free!

Alright, just a quick reminder before we start: the imperfect tense, or l'imparfait, is used to talk about past habits, ongoing actions, or situations in the past.

Couple of examples:

  • Quand j'étais jeune, j'écoutais souvent de la musique. (When I was young, I often listened to music.)

  • Il pleuvait beaucoup ce matin. (It was raining a lot this morning.)

Now let's see "pouvoir" in the imperfect tense.

Please repeat after me:

  • je pouvais (I could / I was able to)

  • tu pouvais (you could — informal)

  • il / elle pouvait (he / she could)

  • on pouvait (we could — informal)

  • nous pouvions (we could)

  • vous pouviez (you could — formal or plural)

  • ils / elles pouvaient (they could)

Now, let's see some example sentences:

  • Quand j'étais petite, je pouvais faire le grand écart. (When I was little, I could do the splits.)

  • Tu ne pouvais pas venir plus tôt ? (Couldn't you come earlier?)

  • Quand elle était étudiante, elle pouvait prendre le train gratuitement. (When she was a student, she could take the train for free.)

  • À l'école primaire, on pouvait jouer au foot tous les jours. (In primary school, we could play soccer every day.)

  • Avant, nous ne pouvions pas travailler à la maison. (Before, we couldn't work from home.)

  • Est-ce que vous pouviez comprendre le professeur ? (Could you understand the teacher?)

  • Quand ils étaient plus jeunes, ils pouvaient courir très vite. (When they were younger, they could run very fast.)

Quick Recap:

je pouvais, tu pouvais, il/elle pouvait, on pouvait, nous pouvions, vous pouviez, ils/elles pouvaient

Et voilà ! That wraps up our lesson on how to conjugate "pouvoir" in the imperfect tense.

Make sure you download the cheat sheet to review today's conjugation, and head over to the Exercise Library to get some extra practice. The exercises really help everything stick, so don't skip them!

Thanks so much for listening, and I'll chat with you next week.

À bientôt, bye! 🖤

Mathilde KienComment