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The verb poder

The Verb PODERThe verb PODER means

“to be able to” or “can”

The Verb PODERRemember, in Spanish all verbs have two parts, the stem and the ending.

The Verb PoderFor example POD is the stemER is the ending…thus makes PODER

Stem Changing VerbsPODER is what we call a “stem-changing verb”.

Stem Changing VerbsThe “stem” is what changes, so the stem POD changes the “o” to “ue” in all forms except the nosotros and vosotros.

Stem Changing VerbsSo instead of POD, you have PUED.The endings follow the regular ‘er’ endings.

Remember “ER” Endings?o

es

e

emos

éis

en

PODERyo puedo

tú puedes

Ud.él puedeella

nosotrosnosotras podemos (NO CHANGE)

Uds.ellos puedenellas

Uses of PODERWhen the forms of PODER are followed by another verb, the second verb is always an infinitive.

Uses of PODERFor example:No puedo ir al cine contigo el viernes.

DORMIR

The verb DORMIR is very similar to PODER. It means “to sleep.”

DORMIRDORMIR is a “stem-changing” verb.It is an “o > ue” stem-changing verb.

DORMIRThe stem of “dormir” is…“dorm”What changes?

“duerm”

DORMIRDORMIR follows regular “-ir” endings. o, es, e, imos, ís, en

DORMIRAll forms change except the nosotros and vosotros forms.

Let’s see!

DORMIRyo duermo

tú duermes

élella duermeUd.

nosotrosnosotras dormimos (NO CHANGE) ellos ellas duermen Uds.