French reference
pouvoir
to be able to, can
Irregular · 17 form tables
Includes indicative, conditional, subjunctive and imperative forms. Literary categories and supplied participle agreement forms are labeled separately.
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Indicative
Present
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I can (do something) |
| tu | you can (do something) |
| il/elle/on | he/she can (do something) |
| nous | we can (do something) |
| vous | you (plural/formal) can (do something) |
| ils/elles | they can (do something) |
Compound past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I was able to (do something); I have been able to (do something) |
| tu | you were able to (do something); you have been able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | he/she was able to (do something); he/she has been able to (do something) |
| nous | we were able to (do something); we have been able to (do something) |
| vous | you (plural/formal) were able to (do something); you (plural/formal) have been able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | they were able to (do something); they have been able to (do something) |
Imperfect
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I could (do something) |
| tu | you could (do something) |
| il/elle/on | he/she could (do something) |
| nous | we could (do something) |
| vous | you (plural/formal) could (do something) |
| ils/elles | they could (do something) |
Pluperfect
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I had been able to (do something) |
| tu | you had been able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | he/she had been able to (do something) |
| nous | we had been able to (do something) |
| vous | you (plural/formal) had been able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | they had been able to (do something) |
Future
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I will be able to (do something) |
| tu | you will be able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | he/she will be able to (do something) |
| nous | we will be able to (do something) |
| vous | you (plural/formal) will be able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | they will be able to (do something) |
Future perfect
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I will have been able to (do something) |
| tu | you will have been able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | he/she will have been able to (do something) |
| nous | we will have been able to (do something) |
| vous | you (plural/formal) will have been able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | they will have been able to (do something) |
Near future
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I am going to be able to (do something) |
| tu | you are going to be able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | he/she is going to be able to (do something) |
| nous | we are going to be able to (do something) |
| vous | you (plural/formal) are going to be able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | they are going to be able to (do something) |
Recent past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I have just been able to (do something) |
| tu | you have just been able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | he/she has just been able to (do something) |
| nous | we have just been able to (do something) |
| vous | you (plural/formal) have just been able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | they have just been able to (do something) |
Simple past (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I was able to (do something) |
| tu | you were able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | he/she was able to (do something) |
| nous | we were able to (do something) |
| vous | you (plural/formal) were able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | they were able to (do something) |
Past anterior (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I had been able to (do something) |
| tu | you had been able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | he/she had been able to (do something) |
| nous | we had been able to (do something) |
| vous | you (plural/formal) had been able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | they had been able to (do something) |
Conditional
Conditional
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I would be able to (do something) |
| tu | you would be able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | he/she would be able to (do something) |
| nous | we would be able to (do something) |
| vous | you (plural/formal) would be able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | they would be able to (do something) |
Past conditional
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I would have been able to (do something) |
| tu | you would have been able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | he/she would have been able to (do something) |
| nous | we would have been able to (do something) |
| vous | you (plural/formal) would have been able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | they would have been able to (do something) |
Past conditional, second form (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I would have been able to (do something) |
| tu | you would have been able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | he/she would have been able to (do something) |
| nous | we would have been able to (do something) |
| vous | you (plural/formal) would have been able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | they would have been able to (do something) |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I am able to (do something) |
| tu | (that) you are able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she is able to (do something) |
| nous | (that) we are able to (do something) |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) are able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | (that) they are able to (do something) |
Past subjunctive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I have been able to (do something) |
| tu | (that) you have been able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she has been able to (do something) |
| nous | (that) we have been able to (do something) |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) have been able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | (that) they have been able to (do something) |
Imperfect subjunctive (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I was able to (do something) |
| tu | (that) you were able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she was able to (do something) |
| nous | (that) we were able to (do something) |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) were able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | (that) they were able to (do something) |
Pluperfect subjunctive (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I had been able to (do something) |
| tu | (that) you had been able to (do something) |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she had been able to (do something) |
| nous | (that) we had been able to (do something) |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) had been able to (do something) |
| ils/elles | (that) they had been able to (do something) |
Additional forms
- Gerund
- Present participle
- Past participle
- Past infinitive
- Perfect participle
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all French entries.