can / to be able to
Ability or possibility, usually with să + a conjugated verb.
Pot să te ajut.
I can help you.
Nu pot veni.
I can't come.
#23 · Verb
putea
In Romanian, putea means “can / to be able to”. It’s the #23 most frequently used Romanian word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
Meaning & Use
The Romanian "can" — the 23rd most frequent word and the politeness workhorse. Pot să… asks permission, poți să… asks a favour, and the conditional aș putea softens either into a proper request. It is also one of the rare verbs that can take a bare infinitive: pot veni and pot să vin are both correct.
neutralmay / to be allowed
Asking or granting permission.
Pot să intru?
May I come in?
Poți pleca.
You may go.
maybe / perhaps (poate)
The 3rd-person form poate doubles as a standalone adverb meaning "maybe" — extremely common.
Poate mâine.
Maybe tomorrow.
Poate că are dreptate.
Maybe he is right.
it is possible / one can (impersonal: se poate)
The reflexive impersonal, for what is or is not possible.
Nu se poate.
It's not possible.
Se poate?
May I? / Is it allowed?
Forms you’ll actually hear
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken Romanian. The top 5 forms cover about 89% of everyday use — learn these first.
pot30%
putea17%
poți16%
poate16%
putem10%
Show 8 more forms
putut5%
puteți3%
puteam1%
poată<1%
puteai<1%
puteau<1%
puteați<1%
putând<1%
Conjugation
- Infinitive
- a putea
- Past Participle
- putut
- Gerund
- putând
- Auxiliary
- a avea
- Reflexive
- No
- Transitivity
- intransitive
| Tense | eu | tu | el/ea | noi | voi | ei/ele |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | pot | poți | poate | putem | puteți | pot |
| Imperfect | puteam | puteai | putea | puteam | puteați | puteau |
| Perfect compus | am putut | ai putut | a putut | am putut | ați putut | au putut |
| Future | voi putea | vei putea | va putea | vom putea | veți putea | vor putea |
| Conditional | aș putea | ai putea | ar putea | am putea | ați putea | ar putea |
| Subjunctive | să pot | să poți | să poată | să putem | să puteți | să poată |
- Unusually for Romanian, a putea accepts a bare infinitive: pot veni is as correct as pot să vin.
- A verb of ability has no imperative — you cannot order someone to be able to do something.
- eu and ei/ele share the present form pot; the subjunctive 3rd person is irregular: să poată.
Examples
Poți să vorbești mai rar?
Can you speak more slowly?
poți - The single most useful sentence for a beginner. Note mai rar for "more slowly".
Aș putea să întreb ceva?
Could I ask something?
aș putea - Conditional aș + infinitive putea — the polite register for requests.
Nu am putut să dorm.
I couldn't sleep.
putut - Compound past with the participle putut, auxiliary a avea.
Poate că vine mai târziu.
Maybe he will come later.
poate - Here poate is not "he can" but the adverb "maybe" — context and the following că decide.
Nu se poate așa ceva!
Such a thing isn't possible!
se poate - Impersonal reflexive — no subject, verb stays 3rd singular.
"poate" is ambiguous by design: it is both "he/she can" and the adverb "maybe". Poate veni can mean "he can come" or "maybe he comes" — intonation, and often a following că, disambiguate it.
In expressions
Common phrases built around putea — worth learning as whole units.
Nu pot.— I can't.
lit. “not I-can”
pot să— I can; may I
lit. “I-can that” · conjugates by person: poți să (you), poate să (he/she)
ar putea— could, might
lit. “it-would-be-able” · conjugates by person: aș putea (I), ai putea (you)
se poate— it's possible; may I?; one can
lit. “it can”
s-ar putea— it might; maybe, possibly
lit. “refl-would be-able”
Nu se poate.— No way! / It's impossible!
lit. “not refl can”
Corpus examples
.
I can't believe it.