Conjugation of posse in Latin
posseto be ableirregular
Praesēnspresent
Actions happening now or habitually.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| ego | possum | |
| tū | potes | |
| is/ea/id | potest | |
| nōs | possumus | |
| vōs | potestis | |
| eī/eae/ea | possunt |
Common mistakes in the Praesēns
- tū
potestpotesDon't confuse 2nd and 3rd person endings: 2nd singular ends in -s (potes), 3rd singular in -t. - is/ea/id
potespotest3rd singular takes -t (potest), not the 2nd-person -s form.
Imperfectum
Ongoing or habitual actions in the past.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| ego | poteram | |
| tū | poteras | |
| is/ea/id | poterat | |
| nōs | poteramus | |
| vōs | poteratis | |
| eī/eae/ea | poterant |
Futūrum Ifuture
Actions that will happen.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| ego | potero | |
| tū | poteris | |
| is/ea/id | poterit | |
| nōs | poterimus | |
| vōs | poteritis | |
| eī/eae/ea | poterunt |
Perfectumpresent perfect
Past actions with a bearing on the present.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| ego | potui | |
| tū | potuisti | |
| is/ea/id | potuit | |
| nōs | potuimus | |
| vōs | potuistis | |
| eī/eae/ea | potuerunt |
Plūsquamperfectumpluperfect
Actions completed before another past action.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| ego | potueram | |
| tū | potueras | |
| is/ea/id | potuerat | |
| nōs | potueramus | |
| vōs | potueratis | |
| eī/eae/ea | potuerant |
Futūrum Perfectumfuture perfect
Actions that will be finished by a future point.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| ego | potuero | |
| tū | potueris | |
| is/ea/id | potuerit | |
| nōs | potuerimus | |
| vōs | potueritis | |
| eī/eae/ea | potuerint |
Subiūnctīvus Praesēnspresent subjunctive
Wishes, doubts and possibilities in the present.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| ego | possim | |
| tū | possis | |
| is/ea/id | possit | |
| nōs | possimus | |
| vōs | possitis | |
| eī/eae/ea | possint |
Common mistakes in the Subiūnctīvus Praesēns
- ego
potimpossimThe present subjunctive of posse uses a doubled s (possim), not potim.
Subiūnctīvus Imperfectumimperfect subjunctive
Hypothetical or unreal situations in the past.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| ego | possem | |
| tū | posses | |
| is/ea/id | posset | |
| nōs | possemus | |
| vōs | possetis | |
| eī/eae/ea | possent |
Subiūnctīvus Perfectumperfect subjunctive
Completed hypothetical actions.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| ego | potuerim | |
| tū | potueris | |
| is/ea/id | potuerit | |
| nōs | potuerimus | |
| vōs | potueritis | |
| eī/eae/ea | potuerint |
posse — frequently asked questions
Is posse a regular verb?
No — posse is an irregular Latin verb, so some of its forms do not follow the standard endings.
What does posse mean?
posse is a Latin verb meaning "to be able".