"to be able, can" in seven languages
Meaningto be able, can
Spanish
poder
/poˈdeɾ/
inherited
French
pouvoir
/puvwaʁ/
inherited
Old French pooir lost the t altogether; the v was slipped in later to fill the gap.
Italian
potere
/poˈtere/
inherited
Portuguese
poder
/poˈdeh/
inherited
Romanian
putea
/puˈte̯a/
inherited
Catalan
poder
/puˈde/
inherited
English
can
/kæn/
native English · Old English cunnan
English → Italianto be able, canpotereNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: potent, potential, possible, power (via French).What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
POSSE (spoken Latin *POTĒRE)‘to be able’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Classical POSSE was rebuilt as a regular *POTĒRE from forms like POTEST 'he can'. Then the t between vowels shows the three-way lenition: kept in Italian, voiced to d in Spanish, lost in French.
English relatives: potent, potential, possible, power (via French)
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- es¿Puedes ayudarme?
- frTu peux m'aider ?
- itPuoi aiutarmi?
- ptVocê pode me ajudar?
- roMă poți ajuta?
- caEm pots ajudar?
- enCan you help me?