Beryl Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 What is the English tranlation of the imparfait de l'indicatif of pouvais?The website that I use for learning conjugaisons says it is ' could'. But I think 'could' is the conditionnel -Pourrais.Can anyone clear this up for me please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juswundrin Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 HiYes, it's "could" but not in the conditional sense, more "I used to be able to in the past..." sort of way.Think... "I could see it when I woke up", as opposed to "I could see it if I wanted to".HTH (or have I just confused you even more?) :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineS2 Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 I thought that "pouvais" means "I could" as in Juswundrin's example "I could see it when I woke up", and that "pourrais" means "I would/will be able to", as in "I would/will be able to see it when I wake up". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eslier Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 Try: "was able to" (over a period of time in the past) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl Posted March 18, 2006 Author Share Posted March 18, 2006 Je pouvais = I used to be able to ...that makes sense , thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaligoBay Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 [quote user="CatherineS2"]and that "pourrais" means "I would/will be able to", as in "I would/will be able to see it when I wake up".[/quote]"Pourrais" is the conditional, so it can't mean "I will be able to".The 1st person singular future of pouvoir is "je pourrai".Not to be confused with "purée", which is either mashed potato or an exclamation of wowness.Or even "pourri", which means rotten.Of course, the difference between "purée" and "pourrai" is in the pronunciation, so you couldn't really get them confused. Just like you would never get "cul" and "cou" confused. [;)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineS2 Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 Ok, fair cop Saligobay - I spelt it wrong!!! "I will be able to" = "je pourrai". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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