The helper verbs potere (to be able to, can), volere (to want), and dovere (to have to, must) take on different meanings in different tenses. Potere, for example, can mean "to be able to," "can," "to succeed," "could," or "would be able to," depending on the context and tense. Dovere can mean "to owe," "to have to," "must," or "to be supposed to," according to the tense. Potere In the present indicative tense, potere means "to be able to" or "can." For example: posso uscire? (May I go out?) Posso suonare il trombone. I can (am able to) play the trombone. In the present perfect tense, potere means "to be able to, to succeed": Ho potuto spedire il pacco. (I was able to mail the package.) Non sono potuti venire più presto. (They could not come earlier, but they tried.) In the conditional tenses (condizionale presente and condizionale passato), this verb may be translated as "could," "would be able to," "could have," or "could have been able to": Potrei arrivare alle tre. (I was able to arrive at three o |