pouvoir

French

Alternative forms

powoir (Louisiana)

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French povoir, from Old French povoir, pooir, from earlier Old French poeir, podeir, from Vulgar Latin potēre, regularization of Latin posse. The /-v-/ was eventually added, after the loss of the intervocalic dental, to break hiatus. The archaic 1SG present indicative puis is from a Vulgar Latin *posseō (rather than possō), for which cf. Old Catalan puix.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /pu.vwaʁ/
Audio: (file)
(Louisiana) IPA^(key): [pu.wɒɾ]
Rhymes: -waʁ

Verb

pouvoir

(auxiliary) can, to be able to
Je peux venir ce soir. ― I can come this evening.
- 2018, Zaz (lyrics and music), “Nos Vies”:
  On est des étoiles dans ce ciel bleu clair et on mettra les voiles quand on pourra le faire.
  We are stars in that clear blue sky, and we will set sail when we can.
(auxiliary) may (of a choice)
Tu peux rentrer chez toi si tu veux. ― You may go home if you want.
(impersonal, reflexive, or not) to be possible; may, could be
Il se peut que je sois malade.
I may be ill. / I could be ill.
(literally, “It could be that I'm ill”)

Il peut pleuvoir d’une minute à l’autre.
It can rain any time now.
to have the right (to)
Est-ce-que je peux sortir ?
Can I leave ?
to have the power, the authority or the talent (to do something)
Je ne peux rien pour vous.
You're finished. / You can't be cured (or helped).
(literally, “I can nothing for you.”)

Usage notes

Regarding the use of pouvoir and savoir, three sub-senses must be distinguished:
- Savoir is used for “know how to do something, have learnt something”.
  Je sais nager. ― I can swim. / I know how to swim. / I've learnt to swim.
- Pouvoir is generally used for “be currently capable of doing something”, but Belgian French uses savoir.
  Je ne peux pas dormir. (France) / Je ne sais pas dormir. (Belgium) ― I can't sleep. / I'm not currently able to fall asleep.
- Pouvoir is always used for “be free, allowed, unhindered to do something”.
  Je ne peux pas sortir. ― I can't go out. / I'm not allowed to go out. / Something prevents me from going out.
Puis (/pɥi/) is an archaic form of the first person present indicative peux. It is still used in inversion or with the conjunction si:
Puis-je vous aider? ― May I help you?

Si je puis me permettre… ― If you don't mind…

Conjugation

Conjugation of pouvoir (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	compound	avoir + past participle
infinitive	simple	pouvoir
present participle or gerund¹	simple	pouvant /pu.vɑ̃/
present participle or gerund¹	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		pu /py/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	peux /pø/²	peux /pø/	peut /pø/	pouvons /pu.vɔ̃/	pouvez /pu.ve/	peuvent /pœv/
	imperfect	pouvais /pu.vɛ/	pouvais /pu.vɛ/	pouvait /pu.vɛ/	pouvions /pu.vjɔ̃/	pouviez /pu.vje/	pouvaient /pu.vɛ/
	past historic⁴	pus /py/	pus /py/	put /py/	pûmes /pym/	pûtes /pyt/	purent /pyʁ/
	future	pourrai /pu.ʁe/	pourras /pu.ʁa/	pourra /pu.ʁa/	pourrons /pu.ʁɔ̃/	pourrez /pu.ʁe/	pourront /pu.ʁɔ̃/
	conditional	pourrais /pu.ʁɛ/	pourrais /pu.ʁɛ/	pourrait /pu.ʁɛ/	pourrions /pu.ʁjɔ̃/	pourriez /pu.ʁje/	pourraient /pu.ʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior⁴	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	puisse /pɥis/³	puisses /pɥis/	puisse /pɥis/	puissions /pɥi.sjɔ̃/	puissiez /pɥi.sje/	puissent /pɥis/
(simple tenses)	imperfect⁴	pusse /pys/	pusses /pys/	pût /py/	pussions /py.sjɔ̃/	pussiez /py.sje/	pussent /pys/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
(compound tenses)	pluperfect⁴	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	~~nous~~	~~vous~~	–
simple		—	—	—	—	—	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
¹ The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
² puis when inverted.
³ puissé when inverted.
⁴ In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

This verb is impersonal and is conjugated only in the third-person singular.

Conjugation of se pouvoir (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	compound	s'être + past participle
infinitive	simple	se pouvoir
present participle or gerund¹	simple	se pouvant /sə pu.vɑ̃/
present participle or gerund¹	compound	ayant or étant + past participle
past participle		pu /py/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	—²	—	se peut /sə pø/	—	—	—
	imperfect	—	—	se pouvait /sə pu.vɛ/	—	—	—
	past historic⁴	—	—	se put /sə py/	—	—	—
	future	—	—	se pourra /sə pu.ʁa/	—	—	—
	conditional	—	—	se pourrait /sə pu.ʁɛ/	—	—	—
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of s'être + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of s'être + past participle
	past anterior⁴	past historic of s'être + past participle
	future perfect	future of s'être + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of s'être + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	—³	—	se puisse /sə pɥis/	—	—	—
(simple tenses)	imperfect⁴	—	—	se pût /sə py/	—	—	—
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of s'être + past participle
(compound tenses)	pluperfect⁴	imperfect subjunctive of s'être + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	~~nous~~	~~vous~~	–
simple		—	—	—	—	—	—
compound		—	simple imperative of s'être + past participle	—	simple imperative of s'être + past participle	simple imperative of s'être + past participle	—
¹ The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
² puis when inverted.
³ puissé when inverted.
⁴ In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Derived terms

Related terms

puissance

Noun

pouvoir m (plural pouvoirs)

(countable or uncountable) power
prendre le pouvoir ― to take power, to seize power
authority
(law) power of attorney

Derived terms

References

“pouvoir”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.