Poder en inglés (Can, could, be able to)
Regístrese gratis para obtener toda la información sobre lecciones privadas y nuestros cursos grupales disponibles (A1, A2, B2, B2, C1, C2)
Regístrate gratisHay tres modos de expresar capacidad o habilidad en inglés, mediante los verbos modales can o could o bien mediante la expresión be able to.
Plan de estudio
Ocultar1. Can en inglés
El verbo modal can se usa para hablar de habilidad, posibilidad o permiso. Solo puede usarse en presente o en formas del futuro para formular afirmaciones, negaciones o preguntas sobre todo para referirnos a situaciones que sabemos que son imposibles o que no son verdad.
Estructura: Pronombre/sujeto + can/can't + verbo en infinitivo.
| Pronombre personal | Afirmación | Negación | Pregunta |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | can do | can't do | Can I do? |
| You | can do | can't do | Can you do? |
| He/She/It | can do | can't do | Can he/she/it do? |
| We | can do | can't do | Can we do? |
| They | can do | can't do | Can they do? |
| You | can do | can't do | Can you do? |
¿Tienes alguna pregunta?
Recibe lecciones de idiomas online de un profesor profesional
- Profesores nativos y verificados
- Lección de prueba gratuita
- Material didáctico incluido
Ronald R. 
Irene L. 
Lidia G.
Luisella Z. 
Sarah Y. 
Mariateresa M.
Martina G.
Fiorella P. 
Christine M. 
E. Vanessa B. 
Ejemplos:
- Can you clean your room before you leave? - ¿Puedes limpiar tu habitación antes de irte?
- We can speak later if you are busy now - Podemos hablar más tarde si estas ocupado ahora.
- I can't believe that you have forgotten our anniversary - No me puedo creer que hayas olvidado nuestro aniversario.
2. Could en inglés
El verbo could se usa para hablar de habilidad, posibilidad o permiso pero en el pasado, siendo así la forma en pasado de can. También se puede usar en el presente como una petición formal "Podrías...?". Además, se usa sobre todo con estos verbos: see, hear, smell, taste, feel, remember, understand.
Estructura: Pronombre/sujeto + could/couldn't + verbo en infinitivo.
| Pronombre personal | Afirmación | Negación | Pregunta |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | could do | couldn't do | Could I do? |
| You | could do | couldn't do | Could you do? |
| He/She/It | could do | couldn't do | Could he/she/it do? |
| We | could do | couldn't do | Could we do? |
| You | could do | couldn't do | Could you do? |
| They | could do | couldn't do | Could they do? |
Ejemplos:
- I could see the beach from our apartment – Yo podía ver la playa desde nuestro apartamento.
- We couldn’t hear him properly because we were out of range – No podíamos escucharlo bien porque no teníamos cobertura.
- Could you arrive on time? - ¿Pudiste llegar a tiempo?
- Could you close the door, please? - ¿Podrías cerrar la puerta por favor?
Otro modo de usar el verbo modal could es con el pasado participio para expresar un arrepentimiento o algo que podría haber pasado.
Estructura: Sujeto/pronombre + could/couldn't + have + verbo pasado participio.
| Pronombre personal | Afirmación | Negación | Pregunta |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | could have done | couldn't have done | Could I have done...? |
| You | could have done | couldn't have done | Could you have done...? |
| He/She/It | could have done | couldn't have done | Could he/she/it have done...? |
| We | could have done | couldn't have done | Could we have done...? |
| You | could have done | couldn't have done | Could you have done...? |
| They | could have done | couldn't have done | Could they have done...? |
Ejemplos:
- I could have studied more for the exam - Podría haber estudiado más para el examen.
- He couldn't have finished his degree without his family's support - Él no podría haber terminado su carrera sin el apoyo de su familia.
- Do you think they could have done something else for him? - ¿Crees que podrían haber hecho algo más por él?
3. Be able to en inglés
Pese a que no se trata de un verbo modal, esta expresión suele confundirse con el verbo can y es que su traducción es muy similar, pero cuando queremos hablar de tener una capacidad o incapacidad debemos usar be able to.
Estructura: Pronombre/sujeto + verbo to be + able + to + verbo en infinitivo.
| PRESENTE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pronombre personal | Afirmación | Negación | Pregunta |
| I | am able to | am not able to | Am I able to? |
| You | are able to | aren't able to | Are you able to? |
| He/She/It | is able to | isn't able to | Is he/she/it able to? |
| We | are able to | aren't able to | Are we able to? |
| You | are able to | aren't able to | Are you able to? |
| They | are able to | aren't able to | Are they able to? |
Ejemplos:
- I'm able to speak three languages - Soy capaz de hablar tres idiomas.
- She isn't able to study maths. She hates numers - Ella no es capaz de estudiar matemáticas. Odia los números.
- Are you able to stay awake all the day without sleeping? - ¿Eres capaz de estar despierto todo el día sin dormir?
| PASADO | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pronombre personal | Afirmación | Negación | Pregunta |
| I | was able to | wasn't able to | Was I able to? |
| You | were able to | weren't able to | Were you able to? |
| He/She/It | was able to | wasn't able to | Was he/she/it able to? |
| We | were able to | weren't able to | Were we able to? |
| You | were able to | weren't able to | Were we able to? |
| They | were able to | weren't able to | Were they able to? |
Ejemplos:
- She was able to ride a bike but now she can't do it anymore - Ella era capaz de ir en bici pero ahora ya no puede hacerlo más.
- I wasn't able to call him - No fui capaz de llamarlo.
- Were you able to do skydiving? - ¿Fuiste capaz de hacer paracaidismo?