Basic permission questions | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. ¿Puedo usar esto?

   Can I use this?

   Puedo

   can I

   usar

   use

   esto

   this

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder, meaning “can” here. The ending shows that the understood subject is “I”; Spanish often leaves this subject unstated. In a question, ¿Puedo…? asks whether the speaker is allowed or able to do something. Example: ¿Puedo entrar? — “Can I come in?” usar is the infinitive “to use.” After puedo, Spanish uses the infinitive for the action that the speaker can or may perform. Example: Quiero usar esto. — “I want to use this.” esto is a neuter demonstrative pronoun meaning “this.” It points to something understood from the situation without naming a noun, so its form does not identify a particular noun or referent here. Compare the masculine and feminine demonstrative pronouns este and esta when a specific noun is being referred to. Example: Esto es útil. — “This is useful.” Together, ¿Puedo usar esto? forms a question with puedo (“can I”), followed by the action usar (“use”) and its object esto (“this”): “Can I use this?”

2. ¿Puedo sentarme aquí?

   Can I sit here?

   Puedo

   Can I? / Am I able to?

   sentarme

   sit down

   aquí

   here

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to,” and often “can/may”). In this question, the fixed translation shows that it asks for permission: “Can I...?” The same form can also describe ability in another context, for example: Puedo hacerlo. — “I can do it.” sentarme is the infinitive sentar combined with the reflexive pronoun me; the relevant reusable verb is sentarse, “to sit down.” The pronoun me refers back to the first-person subject, so sentarme means “to sit down” for “me.” With poder, the following verb stays in the infinitive: ¿Puedo entrar? — “Can I come in?” aquí means “here,” referring to the place associated with the question. Its written accent marks the stressed vowel. A useful location contrast is aquí (“here”) versus allí (“there”): ¿Puedo sentarme allí? — “Can I sit there?” Together, ¿Puedo asks whether the speaker is permitted to do something, sentarme names that action as “sit down,” and aquí specifies the location. The complete utterance therefore means “Can I sit here?”

3. ¿Puedo entrar?

   Can I come in?

   Puedo

   can I / may I

   entrar

   enter; come in

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to; can”). In this question, yo is understood as the person asking, so puedo expresses permission or ability: “Can I…?” The present form is puedo; other useful forms include puedes (“you can”) and puede (“he, she, or you formal can”). Entrar is an infinitive meaning “to enter” or, in this context, “to come in.” After poder, Spanish uses an infinitive: poder + infinitive. Example: ¿Puedo esperar aquí? — “Can I wait here?” Together, ¿Puedo entrar? uses the reusable pattern ¿Puedo + infinitive? to ask whether the speaker may or is able to do something. Here, entrar supplies the action, so the complete meaning is “Can I come in?” The question marks show that the whole utterance is a question.

4. ¿Puedo verlo?

   Can I see it?

   Puedo

   can I

   verlo

   see it

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to,” “can”). In this question, ¿Puedo ...? asks whether the speaker is allowed or able to do something. Compare puedes (“you can”) and puede (“he, she, or you formal can”); the form changes with the subject. Example: ¿Puedo entrar? — “Can I come in?” verlo combines the infinitive ver (“to see”) with the attached direct-object pronoun lo (“it” or “him” in the masculine singular form). After a conjugated form of poder, Spanish normally uses an infinitive: puedo ver (“I can see”). The pronoun can attach to that infinitive, producing puedo verlo (“I can see it”). Here, lo refers to the thing the speaker wants to see; the supplied sentence does not identify that thing more specifically. The pronoun’s masculine singular form does not by itself identify the referent. Example: Quiero verlo. — “I want to see it.” For a feminine singular direct object, use la: Quiero verla. — “I want to see it/her.” Together, ¿Puedo asks about the speaker’s ability or permission, and verlo expresses seeing the unspecified thing. The complete utterance therefore means “Can I see it?”

5. ¿Puedo probarlo?

   Can I try it?

   Puedo

   I can; may I

   probarlo

   try it

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to; can”). In this question, ¿Puedo ...? asks for permission: “May I ...?” The subject is understood as yo (“I”), so the form is puedo; it is not the second-person form puedes (“you can”). probarlo combines the infinitive probar (“to try”) with the attached direct-object pronoun lo (“it”). The infinitive stays in its base form, while lo identifies the thing being tried. Here, the translation supports the meaning “it,” but it does not identify a specific referent. With a feminine noun, Spanish uses la instead: probarla means “to try it” when “it” refers to a feminine noun. The attached form is written as one word: probarlo. Together, ¿Puedo + probarlo gives “Can I try it?” The pattern ¿Puedo + infinitive ...? is reusable for permission requests, for example: ¿Puedo verlo? — “Can I see it?”

6. ¿Puedo tener esto?

   Can I have this?

   Puedo

   I can

   tener

   have

   esto

   this

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to,” “can”). In this question, it expresses the speaker’s ability or permission to do something. The useful pattern is ¿Puedo + infinitive...? (“Can/May I ...?”). Example: ¿Puedo entrar? — “Can I come in?” tener is the infinitive “to have.” After puedo, Spanish uses the infinitive for the second action: puedo tener = “I can have.” The form does not show who has the thing; the subject of puedo supplies the speaker. Example: Puedo esperar. — “I can wait.” esto is a neuter demonstrative pronoun meaning “this,” used here for the thing being requested. It does not identify the thing’s name or gender. Unlike noun-modifying demonstratives such as este or esta, esto stands on its own for an unspecified or non-named thing or matter. Example: ¿Qué es esto? — “What is this?” Together, ¿Puedo tener esto? asks, “Can I have this?” The question combines the first-person ability/permission form puedo, the action tener, and the demonstrative pronoun esto; the fixed translation identifies esto as the item or matter referred to as “this.”