Potere Conjugation in Italian: All You Need to know.
The English word for "to be able to" is Potere.Potere means to have (or not have) the ability, the freedom, and the capacity to do something.
The triumvirate of Italian helping verbs are potere, volere and dovere.
Potere takes a direct object in the form of another word.In compound tenses it takes the auxiliary verb required by the help to express other verbs in different modes.In the compund tenses potere takes essere, if you couple it with mangiare.It is a case-by-case choice, depending on the sentence and the use of the verbs, so remember your ground rules for choosing the right auxiliary.It takes essere to use potere with a reflexive verbs.
You use potere in Italian to ask for permission to do something and, in the negative, to express an impediment or a forbiddance.
Potere, like in English, is a vague and broad term for why one can or cannot do something.If you say Paolo cannot go out, we don't know why, if he's indisposed, or forbidden from going out.
Betsy doesn't have a physical barrier to speaking Italian, she simply does not know how, so if you say she cannot speak Italian in English, you should say Betsy non sa parlare italiano.It is possible to be a better option than potere if you are capable of or able.
In constructions with direct and indirect object pronouns and combined pronouns, the pronouns can go before or after the infinitive that the potere is supporting.
It can be difficult in some modes.Averglielo potuto dire or avere is less common.In the gerund, there are potendoglielo dare, avendo potuto dirgliELO, or a Vedogliel dire.Potere does not have an imperative.
The present and the past are used in the passato prossimo.There are tense verbs in the passato prossimo.
There is a regular imperfetto.The imperfetto has a translation with modal verbs.
A trapassato remoto is a tense made of the auxiliary and the past participle.
The present subjunctive of the auxiliary and the past participle are used in a regular congiuntivo passato.
The passato is made of the present and the past.The English could have.