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      In class and at home: modal verb 'podemos'

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use an expanding range of words to talk about everyday activities that I and others can do in class and at home.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. Listening to words with final and penultimate syllable stress helps to develop the ability to identify the stress.
      2. Making vocabulary links using antonyms or words with related meanings can enhance recall.
      3. The verb 'poder' is a modal verb and means 'to be able to', 'can'.
      4. Most present tense forms of 'poder' have a vowel change in the stem, ('puedo'); 'podemos' (we can) has no vowel change.
      5. The verb 'poder' is always followed by an infinitive, e.g. 'Podemos participar en clase.'

      Keywords

      • Penultimate (syllable) stress - pronouncing the second-last syllable more heavily than other syllables in a word

      • Antonym - word that has the opposite meaning of another word

      • Modal verb - verb of necessity or possibility used with a 2nd verb in the infinitive, e.g. must, can, want

      • Poder - modal verb that means to be able to/can

      Common misconception

      All present tense forms of the model verb 'poder' have the same vowel change in the stem, o-> ue.

      The 1st, 2nd, 3rd persons singular ('puedo', 'puedes', 'puede') and 3rd person plural ('pueden') forms all have a stem change from 'o' to 'ue' but 1st person plural 'we' form is 'podemos'; it keeps the same vowel as the infinitive 'poder'.

      Teacher tip

      During the vocabulary focus in the 2nd learning cycle, teachers may want to remind pupils about their own 'vocabulario', or personal word repertoire, and encourage them to add any words that are important to them to the place set aside for this.

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0
      except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions
      (Collection 2).

      Lesson video

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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Which nouns are feminine?

      barrio
      día
      problema
      Correct answer: persona
      Correct answer: playa

      Q2.
      Which verbs are modal verbs?

      dar
      Correct answer: deber
      hacer
      ir
      Correct answer: querer

      Q3.
      Match the Spanish and English.

      Correct Answer:poder,can, to be able to

      can, to be able to

      Correct Answer:puedo,I can

      I can

      Correct Answer:puedes,you can

      you can

      Correct Answer:puede,she, he, it can

      she, he, it can

      Correct Answer:pueden,they can

      they can

      Q4.
      Match the Spanish and English.

      Correct Answer:ahora,now

      now

      Correct Answer:así,like that

      like that

      Correct Answer:igual,same

      same

      Correct Answer:quizás,perhaps, maybe

      perhaps, maybe

      Correct Answer:según,according to

      according to

      Correct Answer:sin,without

      without

      Q5.
      Write in English: 'vas a la fiesta'.

      Correct Answer: You go to the party., You are going to the party.

      Q6.
      Write in Spanish 'he goes to the market'.

      Correct Answer: Va al mercado., Él va al mercado.

      5 Questions

      Q1.
      Where does the stress fall in the word 'desayuno'?

      des
      ay
      Correct answer: u
      no

      Q2.
      Which form of the verb 'poder' does not have a vowel change in the stem?

      I
      you
      she, he, it
      Correct answer: we
      they

      Q3.
      Match the antonyms.

      Correct Answer:limpio,sucio

      sucio

      Correct Answer:contento,triste

      triste

      Correct Answer:bueno,malo

      malo

      Correct Answer:precioso,feo

      feo

      Correct Answer:empezar,terminar

      terminar

      Correct Answer:opinión,verdad

      verdad

      Q4.
      Order the words to say 'I can go to Italy in January'.

      1 - peudo
      2 - ir
      3 - a
      4 - Italia
      5 - en
      6 - enero

      Q5.
      Write in Spanish: 'we can go to the park'.

      Correct Answer: Podemos ir al parque., Nosotros podemos ir al parque., Nosotras podemos ir al parque.

      To help you plan your 8 Spanish lesson on: In class and at home: modal verb 'podemos', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...