pouvoir

French

Etymology

From Old French povoir, pooir, from early Old French poeir, from Vulgar Latin *potēre (“to be able”) for Classical Latin posse, present active infinitive of possum. *Potēre was a regularized form from the root potis (“able”) or formed on the basis of the present participle potens. The v is an epenthetic consonant added to avoid hiatus.

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• IPA: /pu.vwaʁ/, X-SAMPA: /pu.vwaR/

Verb

pouvoir

1. can, to be able to

   Je peux venir ce soir - I can come this evening

2. may

   désastre qui peut nous frapper - disaster which may strike us

Usage notes

• Pouvoir is not used with verbs relating to the five senses:

  I can see you - Je te vois (not Je peux te voir, which is "I can meet you")

• Pouvoir is not used to mean can in the sense of "to know how to". Savoir is used instead.

  I can swim - Je sais nager (not Je peux nager)

• In Belgian French, pouvoir is additionally not used to say someone is capable of something, savoir is also used for that.

  Je ne sais pas dormir. - I am not able to sleep. to a Belgian, I do not know how to sleep. to a Frenchman.

  Je ne peux pas dormir. - I am not allowed to sleep. to a Belgian, I am not able to sleep. to a Frenchman.

• Puis is the first person present indicative form used in inversion and as an archaic variant.

Related terms

• puissance

Conjugation

   Conjugation of pouvoir (see also Appendix:French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		pouvoir			avoir pu
gerund		en pouvant			en ayant pu
present participle		pouvant
past participle		pu
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il	nous	vous	ils
simple tenses	present	peux	peux	peut	pouvons	pouvez	peuvent
	imperfect	pouvais	pouvais	pouvait	pouvions	pouviez	pouvaient
	past historic1	pus	pus	put	pûmes	pûtes	purent
	future	pourrai	pourras	pourra	pourrons	pourrez	pourront
	conditional	pourrais	pourrais	pourrait	pourrions	pourriez	pourraient
compound tenses	present perfect	Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect	Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	past anterior1	Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	future perfect	Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	conditional perfect	Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il	que nous	que vous	qu’ils
simple tenses	present	puisse	puisses	puisse	puissions	puissiez	puissent
	imperfect1	pusse	pusses	pût	pussions	pussiez	pussent
compound tenses	past	Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect1	Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
		—	N/A	—	N/A	N/A	—
1literary tenses

Noun

pouvoir m (plural pouvoirs)

1. (countable or uncountable) Power, a power.
2. Authority
3. (law) power of attorney

Derived terms

• au pouvoir