Pode ser

pode ser

Pode ser : maybe, could be, possible

You hear this quite a lot in Brazil! You're literally saying: to be able to be. Pode ser!

And that seems a bit strange - at first. I'm sure that learning to say "maybe" feels strange to english learners as well.

Pode ser. » Maybe. Could be. Possibly.
Pode ser amanhã? » Maybe tomorrow?
Vamos almoçar na quinta-feira, pode ser? » Let's lunch on Thursday?

Notice that on this last one, I didn't even include maybe or, could be in the english translation. That's because we'd probably say it like that. Or maybe like this: Maybe we can have lunch on Thursday. Brazilian will often tack-on this expression to the end of a sentence just to make sure that they are unsure. MAYBE.

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pode ser

What about Podem ser or, Poderia ser?

Sure you can.

Eles podem ser corretos. » They might be right.
Poderia ser diferente. » It could (might be) different.

PODER can be in pretty much any mood, any tense. But SER is always just SER. In this expression SER doesn't get conjugated because it's always just expressing to be.

Other great and useful expressions that use PODER including:
Pode deixar. » Leave it (to me).
Pode vim. » You can come.

Whenever PODER is used together with another verb, great things happen 😼

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Grammar: using PODER with verbs

Poder = to be able to, can. It’s often paired with a verb like this:

Posso sair? (Can I go leave?)

Você pode ir? (Can you go?)

Ela pode ajudar? (Can she help?)

* Note the verb after poder is always in the infinitive.


Grammar: poder ➜ to be able to, can

It’s similar to CONSEGUIR but used more often. Its conjugation is irregular.

poder
euposso
você, ele, elapode
nóspodemos
vocês, eles, elaspodem

Complete conjugation.

Você pode me ajudar? (Can you help me?)

Eu posso trabalhar amanhã. (I can work tomorrow.)

A gente pode fazer juntos? (Can we do it together?)


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