Puedo and Can
Hi everyone,
Many of us mistakenly say "can" instead of "may."
I have also heard this same mistake in spanish, where "puedo" is said at the beginning of question. However, the person is not asking if s/he is physically capable of whatever it is the person is asking for.
So, what can be used in place of "puedo" when asking a question?
Thank you
10 Answers
Sorry, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with the question “Can I have some milk?”. Yes, there was a time when this question did not make sense, because the modal verb can did not have a connotation or a meaning associated with it as in the sense of asking permission for something. I’m sure many of us who are older than thirty or forty remember the retort, “I don’t know. Can you?” when someone asked “Can I have some milk?” or “Can I close the door?” because there was a time when the word “can” as a modal verb only meant “to be able to do something.” But when was the last time that an English teacher (or anyone else for that matter) actually said something like this in all seriousness? Thirty years ago? Forty years ago? Languages change. New words are added to the lexicon all the time. Old ones fall out of use. Words take on different meanings, or are used in different ways. This is normal in all languages, especially those (like English or Mandarin Chinese, for instance) that change at a faster rate (than say, French or Italian, for example). The word can may now be used in this sense. It happens all the time. A change happened in the language and it’s now considered perfectly acceptable usage in Standard English, and in virtually any other dialect. (Notice here that we’re talking about a change in meaning, not a change in grammar, as in “I seen it” [confusion of the past participle with the past tense] is grammatically incorrect in Standard English, yet frequently heard in Rural Dialect English, and is perfectly correct grammatically in the minds of those who say it every day.)
But here is the part I really don’t understand: Why are you linking this issue (or, shall we say, what used to be this issue) about the change in meaning of an English modal verb, with Spanish? Spanish doesn’t even have modal verbs. (Modal verbs exist only in Germanic languages and they are a special type of auxiliary verb. In English, they never have the third-person singular –s marker and they cannot be conjugated.) A person cannot translate poder—or some conjugated form of it, such as puedo—to mean “to be able to” or “can” (ability) and think that there must therefore be some other word that means “may” (permission) because “can” cannot refer to asking for permission (actually, yes it can, and does) so therefore that means that puedo cannot mean asking for permission in Spanish. That just doesn’t follow, logcially. And whether puedo does or does not mean asking for permission is irrelevant in the sense that issues in English do not have to correlate to or line up with issues (or non-issues) in Spanish. Languages don’t work that way. Translation doesn’t work that way. Moreover, a native Spanish speaker will automatically (except in the case of a slip of the tongue) use the right verb to mean “to be able to” or “to ask for permission.” There doesn’t need to be an “error” issue here just because there once was such an issue in English.
So, what can be used in place of "puedo" when asking a question?
It depends on context but most times when asking permission to do something, we use "permitir".
In the case of "can I have some milk?" we would use "dar".
For example: The sentence "can I have some milk" is wrong. The word "may should be used in place of the word "can."
Good question.
Well, we have both may and can in English, but really there is only poder in Spanish. You can't assume they have both forms (just as we don´t have both ser and estar, nor conocer and saber) In most cases, ¨May I¨ will be puedo. When being more polite, you'll often hear Podría.
hth roger
[me permite][1]
It means "May I?". Also you can use it politely on it's own when entering a home, helping yourself to something at table and so on.
As often the link won't work but check it out
[1]: http://www.spanishdict.com/translation/me permite
Can you help me with something?
¿Puedes ayudarme con algo?
Poder is used all the time by natives for "can". or "to be able to"
Can I go to the loo?
Sí, puedes creo, pero no tienes permiso.
May I go to the loo?
Claro que sí.
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Hi ray, the question is : how do you distinguish that in English, not in Spanish, as there is no difference
¿Puedo ir a caminar?
As you are asking somebody, this is obviously may I ....
However, can and may are often intechanged by natives, too, so I would not worry. One understands through context.
I am able to walk. Puedo caminar.
12 de Feb, 2010 | enlazar | flag editar
Here's another way around it...
Instead of using "can" or "may" you could say:
It it possible for me to have a Coca-Cola?
¿Es possible para mi tener un Coca-Cola?
Or...
Would it be possible for me to have a Coca-Cola?
¿Sería posible que yo tenga una coca-cola?
I'm not sure that my Spanish is correct, so corrections are welcome.
Puedo=may Puedo = can. How does one tell the difference?
ray76 I want to say "Puedo ir caminar"? which suggests "am I able to walk"? when I mean "may I have permission to walk"? How does one show the true meaning , and is it necessary in Spanish to do so ?
Creó 12 de Feb, 2010 | 414 vistas | enlazar | flag | editar seguir esta pregunta
