Irregular Verbs: Potere, Volere, Dovere

Potere (can / to be able to), volere (to want), and dovere (must / to have to) are the three modal verbs of Italian. They are called modal verbs because they modify the meaning of another verb, expressing ability, desire, or obligation. They are almost always followed by an infinitive.

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Potere — Can / To Be Able To

Full Conjugation

Subject Pronoun	Conjugation	Translation
io	posso	I can
tu	puoi	you can
lui / lei / Lei	può	he/she can
noi	possiamo	we can
voi	potete	you all can
loro	possono	they can

Key observation: The stem alternates between poss- (io, noi, loro) and pu- (tu, lui/lei). The voi form (potete) is the only regular-looking form.

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Uses of Potere