Introduction
Learning how to say what you can do in Brazilian Portuguese opens practical doors: asking for permissions, offering help, listing skills, and talking about possibilities. This article breaks down core sentence patterns, verbs, and short phrases you will use every day. Examples are beginner-friendly and focused on real situations like restaurants, travel, and simple conversations.
- Core verbs to express ability and permission
- Simple sentence patterns to say what you can do
- Polite requests and permission
- Offering help and volunteering abilities
- Negative forms: saying you cannot do something
- Common useful infinitives (vocabulary)
- Practical examples by context
- Short dialogues for practice
- Quick tips for beginners
- Common beginner mistakes and how to avoid them
- Mini practice exercises
- Resources for extra practice
- Conclusion
Core verbs to express ability and permission
Start with three essential verbs: poder, conseguir, and saber. Each has a distinct use.
poder — used for ability, permission, and possibility. Common in questions and requests.
conseguir — emphasizes managing to do something, often similar to can/could in the sense of succeed.
saber — indicates learned ability or skill, like knowing how to do something (saber + infinitive).
Present tense conjugation cheat sheet
For beginners, learn these present forms which appear most often in simple sentences.
poder: eu posso, você pode, ele/ela pode, nós podemos, vocês podem, eles/elas podem
conseguir: eu consigo, você consegue, ele/ela consegue, nós conseguimos, vocês conseguem, eles/elas conseguem
saber: eu sei, você sabe, ele/ela sabe, nós sabemos, vocês sabem, eles/elas sabem
Simple sentence patterns to say what you can do
Below are practical patterns for everyday situations. Replace the verb or action to match your need.
Pattern 1: Expressing general ability
Structure: Subject + poder + infinitive
Examples:
Eu posso falar português.
Você pode me ajudar?
Ela pode dirigir à noite.
Pattern 2: Saying you can manage or succeed
Structure: Subject + conseguir + infinitive
Examples:
Eu consigo ler esse livro.
Você consegue carregar a mala?
Nós conseguimos terminar a tarefa.
Pattern 3: Saying you know how to do something
Structure: Subject + saber + infinitive
Examples:
Eu sei cozinhar arroz.
Ele sabe tocar violão.
Vocês sabem usar o computador?
Polite requests and permission
Brazilian Portuguese uses poder commonly for polite requests. Use question intonation and please words.
Polite words: por favor (please), com licença (excuse me), desculpe (sorry)
Examples of polite requests:
Você pode me ajudar, por favor?
Posso entrar?
Use com licença before entering a small shop or apartment.
Posso usar seu celular?
Note: Posso is the first person of poder used to ask permission for yourself.
Offering help and volunteering abilities
To offer help, use posso or posso ajudar forms and add the task.
Examples:
Posso ajudar você com as malas?
Eu posso lavar a louça depois do jantar.
Se quiser, eu posso dar uma carona.
Notice how Se quiser (if you want) sounds friendly and optional.
Negative forms: saying you cannot do something
Negate the verb with não before it. For ability or permission, this is the natural placement.
Examples:
Eu não posso hoje.
Ela não consegue falar agora.
Eu não sei dirigir.
Tip: For temporary inability, use não posso or não consigo. For lack of skill, use não sei.
Common useful infinitives (vocabulary)
These verbs are frequently paired with poder, conseguir, or saber. First appearance is highlighted.
falar — to speak
ouvir — to hear
ver — to see
entender — to understand
ler — to read
escrever — to write
cozinhar — to cook
dirigir — to drive
andar — to walk
viajar — to travel
Practical examples by context
At a restaurant
Você pode me trazer o cardápio, por favor?
Can you bring me the menu, please?
Eu não posso comer glúten.
Useful when explaining dietary restrictions.
O garçom pode indicar pratos vegetarianos.
Use to ask staff for recommendations.
On public transport
Você pode validar o bilhete aqui?
Ask the driver or attendant to validate a ticket.
Eu consigo pagar com cartão?
Useful question for buying tickets or paying fares.
In simple conversations
Eu sei tocar piano, e você?
Share a learned skill and invite the other person to respond.
Posso fazer uma pergunta rápida?
Polite way to start a conversation.
In emails or messages
Posso enviar o documento amanhã?
Short and clear for scheduling tasks.
Não consigo abrir o arquivo. Pode enviar de novo?
Practical tech support phrasing.
Short dialogues for practice
Dialogue 1 — Asking for help
Você pode me ajudar com isso?
Claro, eu posso. O que você precisa?
Dialogue 2 — Offering skills
Você sabe consertar computadores?
Sim, eu sei. Trabalho com isso há dois anos.
Quick tips for beginners
Tip 1: Use the infinitive after poder, conseguir, and saber. For example, posso + falar, consigo + entender, sei + dirigir.
Tip 2: Posso is common for permission; use você pode to ask someone else to do something politely.
Tip 3: Learn the three verbs conjugations in the present tense because they appear everywhere in everyday speech.
Tip 4: Keep sentences short and swap verbs and infinitives to make new meaning. Example: Eu posso ler. Eu sei ler. Eu consigo ler.
Tip 5: Listen to short audio or mimic signs and menus to see these patterns used in real life. Look for posso, consegue, and sei on service counters and forms.
Common beginner mistakes and how to avoid them
Mistake 1: Using saber when you mean permission. Saber expresses knowledge or skill, not permission. Wrong: Você sabe entrar? Better: Você pode entrar?
Mistake 2: Forgetting to use the infinitive after the verbs. Wrong: Eu posso eu vou. Better: Eu posso ir.
Mistake 3: Placing não after the verb. Natural Portuguese places não before the verb. Wrong: Eu posso não. Better: Eu não posso.
Mistake 4: Mixing up posso and posso ser. Phrases like posso ser usado are passive and more advanced. Stick with posso + infinitive to start.
Mini practice exercises
Convert the English prompts into Brazilian Portuguese using the correct verb.
1. I can help tomorrow. — Eu posso ajudar amanhã.
2. Can you carry this bag? — Você consegue carregar esta bolsa?
3. I know how to swim. — Eu sei nadar.
4. We cannot enter now. — Nós não podemos entrar agora.
Resources for extra practice
Short suggestions beginners can use for self-study: audio phrasebooks, beginner apps with speaking drills, simple chat partners who correct present-tense uses, and Portuguese menus or signs to spot posso and consegue. Focus on hearing and repeating short sentences that use the three verbs.
Conclusion
Mastering sentence patterns with poder, conseguir, and saber gives you practical tools to ask for permission, describe abilities, and offer help in Brazilian Portuguese. Use short, real-life examples from restaurants, transport, and messages to practice. Start with the present tense and simple infinitive structures, and you will quickly handle everyday interactions with confidence.
