potere

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Italian

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin potēre, regularization of Latin posse.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /poˈte.re/
  • Audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -ere
  • Hyphenation: po‧té‧re

Verb

potére (first-person singular present pòsso, first-person singular past historic potéi or (less common) potétti or (ditto, traditional) potètti, past participle potùto, first-person singular future potrò, no imperative, auxiliary avére or (as an auxiliary, with main verbs taking essere) èssere)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) can, could; to be able to
    Lei lo può fare. ― She can do it.
  2. (transitive, intransitive) may, might; to be possible to

Usage notes

  • This verb is not used with verbs relating to the senses: Lo vedo. (“I (can) see it.”) Non lo sento. (“I can't / don't feel it.”) However, riuscire can be used in such contexts if one wants to stress the effort made: Non riesco a vederlo. (“I can't see it (much as I try).”)

Conjugation

    Conjugation of potére (-ere; irregular; defective) (See Appendix:Italian verbs)
infinitive potére
auxiliary verb avére, èssere1 gerund potèndo
present participle potènte past participle potùto
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative io tu lui/lei, esso/essa noi voi loro, essi/esse
present pòsso puòi può2 possiàmo potéte pòssono
imperfect potévo potévi potéva potevàmo potevàte potévano
past historic potéi, potétti3, potètti3,4 potésti poté, potétte3, potètte3,4 potémmo potéste potérono, potéttero3, potèttero3,4
future potrò potrài potrà potrémo potréte potrànno
conditional io tu lui/lei, esso/essa noi voi loro, essi/esse
present potrèi potrésti potrèbbe, potrébbe potrémmo potréste potrèbbero, potrébbero
subjunctive che io che tu che lui/che lei, che esso/che essa che noi che voi che loro, che essi/che esse
present pòssa pòssa pòssa possiàmo possiàte pòssano
imperfect potéssi potéssi potésse potéssimo potéste potéssero
imperative — tu Lei noi voi Loro
— — — — —
negative imperative — — — — —

1As an auxiliary, with main verbs taking essere.
2With syntactic gemination after the verb.
3Less common.
4Traditional.

Including lesser-used forms:

    Conjugation of potére (-ere; irregular; defective) (See Appendix:Italian verbs)
infinitive potére
auxiliary verb avére, èssere1 gerund potèndo, possèndo5
present participle potènte, possènte9 past participle potùto, possùto5
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative io tu lui/lei, esso/essa noi voi loro, essi/esse
present pòsso puòi può2, puòte3, puòle3, pòle4 possiàmo potéte pòssono, puònno5, pònno6
imperfect potévo potévi potéva potevàmo potevàte potévano, potìeno3, potièno3
past historic potéi, potétti7, potètti7,8 potésti poté, potétte7, potètte7,8 potémmo potéste potérono, potéttero7, potèttero7,8
future potrò, poterò5, porò5 potrài, poterài5, porài5 potrà, poterà5, porà5 potrémo, poterémo5, porémo5 potréte, poteréte5, poréte5 potrànno, poterànno5, porànno5
conditional io tu lui/lei, esso/essa noi voi loro, essi/esse
present potrèi, poterèi5, porèi5, potrìa3, porìa3 potrésti, poterésti5, porésti5 potrèbbe, potrébbe, poterèbbe5, poterébbe5, porèbbe5, porébbe5, potrìa3, porìa3 potrémmo, poterémmo5, porémmo5 potréste, poteréste5, poréste5 potrèbbero, potrébbero, poterèbbero5, poterébbero5, porèbbero5, porébbero5, potrìano3, potrìemo3, porìemo3
subjunctive che io che tu che lui/che lei, che esso/che essa che noi che voi che loro, che essi/che esse
present pòssa pòssa pòssa possiàmo possiàte pòssano
imperfect potéssi potéssi potésse potéssimo potéste potéssero
imperative — tu Lei noi voi Loro
— — — — —
negative imperative — — — — —

1As an auxiliary, with main verbs taking essere.
2With syntactic gemination after the verb.
3Archaic or poetic.
4Tuscan.
5Archaic.
6Dialectal.
7Less common.
8Traditional.
9Literary.

See also

Noun

potere m (plural poteri)

  1. power

Derived terms

Related terms

Anagrams

Latin

Etymology 1

Verb

pōtēre

  1. second-person singular present passive subjunctive of pōtō

Etymology 2

Verb

potēre (Late Latin, nonstandard)

  1. present active infinitive of possō

Neapolitan

Alternative forms

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin potēre, from Latin posse.

Pronunciation

Verb

potere

  1. to be able to

References

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia