Is pouvoir an irregular verb?

Yes, and it is also defective. It uses three stems in the indicative (peu-, pouv-, pourr-), a fourth in the subjunctive (puiss-), and it is missing the imperative entirely. The past participle pu is one of the shortest in French.

Is it je peux or je puis?

Both exist, and the conjugation table lists puis because it is the historically older first person. In modern French you say je peux in ordinary statements. Puis survives in the inverted question puis-je and in a few fixed literary turns such as si je puis dire. Saying je puis in conversation sounds archaic.

Why does pouvoir have no imperative?

Commanding someone to be able to do something makes no sense, so the form never developed. The gap is real rather than an omission in this table: to make a request you use a question (pouvez-vous ouvrir la fenêtre ?) or the polite conditional (pourriez-vous). The subjunctive puisse can carry a wish in formal writing: puisse-t-il réussir.

What is the difference between pouvoir and savoir?

Savoir describes an acquired skill: je sais nager, je sais conduire. Pouvoir describes whether the circumstances permit it: je ne peux pas nager aujourd'hui, la piscine est fermée. English collapses both into “can,” which is why the two get mixed up so often.

What is the past participle of pouvoir?

It is pu, giving j'ai pu. In the passé composé it usually means “managed to” rather than a plain ability: j'ai pu le joindre means I succeeded in reaching him. For an ability that simply existed in the background, use the imperfect: je pouvais le joindre à tout moment.

Pouvoir Conjugation: All Tenses of the French Verb “pouvoir”

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed August 2026

Pouvoir means “to be able to.” It covers ability, permission and possibility, and it is one of the few French verbs with a genuine hole in its conjugation: it has no imperative at all.

At a glance
Infinitive	pouvoir
English	to be able to, can
Verb group	3rd group (irregular)
Auxiliary	avoir
Past participle	pu
Present participle	pouvant

Conjugation tables

Indicatif

Présent (Present)
je	peux	I can
tu	peux	you can
il/elle/on	peut	he/she can
nous	pouvons	we can
vous	pouvez	you can
ils/elles	peuvent	they can

The formal variant "je puis" also exists, and in inversion questions it is the only option: puis-je vous aider ?

Imparfait (Imperfect)
je	pouvais	I could
tu	pouvais	you could
il/elle/on	pouvait	he/she could
nous	pouvions	we could
vous	pouviez	you could
ils/elles	pouvaient	they could

Passé composé (Perfect)
j'	ai pu	I have been able to
tu	as pu	you have been able to
il/elle/on	a pu	he/she has been able to
nous	avons pu	we have been able to
vous	avez pu	you have been able to
ils/elles	ont pu	they have been able to

Futur simple (Simple future)
je	pourrai	I will be able to
tu	pourras	you will be able to
il/elle/on	pourra	he/she will be able to
nous	pourrons	we will be able to
vous	pourrez	you will be able to
ils/elles	pourront	they will be able to

Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect)
j'	avais pu	I had been able to
tu	avais pu	you had been able to
il/elle/on	avait pu	he/she had been able to
nous	avions pu	we had been able to
vous	aviez pu	you had been able to
ils/elles	avaient pu	they had been able to

Futur antérieur (Future perfect)
j'	aurai pu	I will have been able to
tu	auras pu	you will have been able to
il/elle/on	aura pu	he/she will have been able to
nous	aurons pu	we will have been able to
vous	aurez pu	you will have been able to
ils/elles	auront pu	they will have been able to

Subjonctif

Subjonctif présent (Subjunctive)
je	puisse	(that) I be able to
tu	puisses	(that) you be able to
il/elle/on	puisse	(that) he/she be able to
nous	puissions	(that) we be able to
vous	puissiez	(that) you be able to
ils/elles	puissent	(that) they be able to

Subjonctif passé (Past subjunctive)
j'	aie pu	(that) I have been able to
tu	aies pu	(that) you have been able to
il/elle/on	ait pu	(that) he/she has been able to
nous	ayons pu	(that) we have been able to
vous	ayez pu	(that) you have been able to
ils/elles	aient pu	(that) they have been able to

Conditionnel

Conditionnel présent (Conditional)
je	pourrais	I would be able to
tu	pourrais	you would be able to
il/elle/on	pourrait	he/she would be able to
nous	pourrions	we would be able to
vous	pourriez	you would be able to
ils/elles	pourraient	they would be able to

Conditionnel passé (Past conditional)
j'	aurais pu	I would have been able to
tu	aurais pu	you would have been able to
il/elle/on	aurait pu	he/she would have been able to
nous	aurions pu	we would have been able to
vous	auriez pu	you would have been able to
ils/elles	auraient pu	they would have been able to

Formes impersonnelles

Infinitives and participles
Infinitif	pouvoir	to be able to
Participe présent	pouvant	being able to
Participe passé	pu	been able to
Infinitif passé	avoir pu	to have been able to
Participe passé composé	ayant pu	having been able to

Literary tenses

Passé simple (Simple past)
je	pus	I was able to
tu	pus	you were able to
il/elle/on	put	he/she was able to
nous	pûmes	we were able to
vous	pûtes	you were able to
ils/elles	purent	they were able to

Passé antérieur (Past anterior)
j'	eus pu	I had been able to
tu	eus pu	you had been able to
il/elle/on	eut pu	he/she had been able to
nous	eûmes pu	we had been able to
vous	eûtes pu	you had been able to
ils/elles	eurent pu	they had been able to

Subjonctif imparfait (Imperfect subjunctive)
je	pusse	(that) I was able to
tu	pusses	(that) you were able to
il/elle/on	pût	(that) he/she was able to
nous	pussions	(that) we were able to
vous	pussiez	(that) you were able to
ils/elles	pussent	(that) they were able to

Subjonctif plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect subjunctive)
j'	eusse pu	(that) I had been able to
tu	eusses pu	(that) you had been able to
il/elle/on	eût pu	(that) he/she had been able to
nous	eussions pu	(that) we had been able to
vous	eussiez pu	(that) you had been able to
ils/elles	eussent pu	(that) they had been able to

This verb is defective. It has no impératif. Those tenses are omitted rather than filled with invented forms.

How Pouvoir behaves

Pouvoir is a modal verb, which means it almost always carries an infinitive behind it: je peux venir, on peut essayer, tu pourrais m'aider. That makes it the polite backbone of everyday French — asking for something, offering something, softening a refusal. It is also the verb you need for possibility in the abstract: ça peut arriver, il se peut que. Because the conditional pourrais is the standard way to make a request sound courteous, this table is worth knowing beyond the present tense.

Pouvoir runs on three stems. The singular and third person plural of the present use peu- (tu peux, il peut, ils peuvent), the nous and vous forms use pouv- (nous pouvons, vous pouvez), and that same pouv- carries the whole imperfect. The future and conditional double the r: je pourrai, je pourrais. The subjunctive is its own stem again, puiss- (que je puisse, que nous puissions), and the past participle is the very short pu. Pouvoir is defective in the imperative: there is no form for giving a command, which is why you fall back on a question or on veuillez.

Pouvoir in context

Présent: Tu peux m'aider à porter les valises ?
Can you help me carry the suitcases?
Imparfait: On ne pouvait pas entrer sans badge.
We couldn't get in without a badge.
Passé composé: Nous avons pu réserver une table pour huit.
We managed to book a table for eight.
Futur simple: Elle pourra venir après son cours.
She'll be able to come after her class.
Subjonctif présent: Bien que je puisse travailler chez moi, je préfère le bureau.
Even though I can work from home, I prefer the office.

Common mistakes with pouvoir

Building the inversion question on peux

✗ Peux-je vous aider ?

✓ Puis-je vous aider ? — May I help you?

The inverted question form of the first person is puis-je, never peux-je. This is the one place where the old form puis survives in ordinary modern French; in a statement you still say je peux.

Using pouvoir for a learned skill

✗ Je peux nager depuis l'âge de cinq ans.

✓ Je sais nager depuis l'âge de cinq ans. — I've been able to swim since I was five.

English uses “can” for both skills and circumstances. French splits them: savoir for something you learned how to do (je sais conduire), pouvoir for what circumstances allow right now (je ne peux pas conduire, j'ai bu).

Trying to give an order with pouvoir

✗ Pouvez m'aider, s'il vous plaît.

✓ Pouvez-vous m'aider, s'il vous plaît ? — Can you help me, please?

Pouvoir has no imperative, so there is no form to build that sentence on. Ask a question instead (pouvez-vous, pourriez-vous) or use veuillez plus an infinitive for a formal request.

Expressions with pouvoir

il se peut que: it may be that
n'en pouvoir plus: to be exhausted, to have had enough
on ne peut plus: as ... as can be
ça se peut: that's possible
je n'y peux rien: there's nothing I can do about it

Frequently asked questions

Is pouvoir an irregular verb?: Yes, and it is also defective. It uses three stems in the indicative (peu-, pouv-, pourr-), a fourth in the subjunctive (puiss-), and it is missing the imperative entirely. The past participle pu is one of the shortest in French.
Is it je peux or je puis?: Both exist, and the conjugation table lists puis because it is the historically older first person. In modern French you say je peux in ordinary statements. Puis survives in the inverted question puis-je and in a few fixed literary turns such as si je puis dire. Saying je puis in conversation sounds archaic.
Why does pouvoir have no imperative?: Commanding someone to be able to do something makes no sense, so the form never developed. The gap is real rather than an omission in this table: to make a request you use a question (pouvez-vous ouvrir la fenêtre ?) or the polite conditional (pourriez-vous). The subjunctive puisse can carry a wish in formal writing: puisse-t-il réussir.
What is the difference between pouvoir and savoir?: Savoir describes an acquired skill: je sais nager, je sais conduire. Pouvoir describes whether the circumstances permit it: je ne peux pas nager aujourd'hui, la piscine est fermée. English collapses both into “can,” which is why the two get mixed up so often.
What is the past participle of pouvoir?: It is pu, giving j'ai pu. In the passé composé it usually means “managed to” rather than a plain ability: j'ai pu le joindre means I succeeded in reaching him. For an ability that simply existed in the background, use the imperfect: je pouvais le joindre à tout moment.