Immersive Spanish - Immersive Spanish, Season 6, San Sebastián, Episode 14 - Locked Out at Lunchtime: ‘Puedo’ (I Can)

Episode Date: April 30, 2026

For extra episodes, head to https://www.patreon.com/ImmersiveSpanishThe Immersive Spanish App is here!We’re excited to introduce the most effective tool for learning Spanish we’ve ever created. Learn more at:https://studio.com/apps/immersivespanishWant to learn with video too?Head to the Immersive Spanish YouTube channel to learn with videos of Kav exploring the Spanish-speaking world and learning Spanish through real-life experiences:https://www.youtube.com/@ImmersiveSpanishImmersive Spanish: San SebastiánIn this season, Kav explores San Sebastián while guiding you through powerful Spanish patterns that unlock countless new words. Instead of conversations, you’ll learn by listening, responding, and filling in speaking gaps, giving you time to think, speak, and build sentences naturally.The focus is on understanding how Spanish works, so you can say more with confidence and less effort.Follow along with bonus lessons and transcripts on Patreon to reinforce the patterns and practise speaking even more.Learn more at:www.immersivespanish.net Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Season 6, episode 14. Hello, amigas and amigos, bienveniles one once a immersive Spanish. Thanks so much to everyone listening and a huge thank you to our Patreon supporters. Classy executive a Villajeros

get one extra immersive Spanish episode every week in the same style as this podcast, as well as ad-free listening, transcripts, and 48 hours early access. And a bigger thank you to our Primera Classi supporters who are able to vote on what we teach

and where we go next. Let's get started. Well, as is often the case, I begin this episode on the move. This time, I'm going to passiando for the casco antigo of San Sebastian. La Parte Vuea. The streets. Ah, incredible. Just imagine.

They're narrow, cobbled, and there are bars on every corner. I've had my eye on this one restaurant all week, and I'm heading there right now. I can see it just ahead. There it is. There it is. There's the sign Hang on What does it say?

Aye no Serrado closed Guys, no Puehro enra I can't go in And that, Villegos is today's verb

I've just decided Poder To be able to Can Poder Poder is actually One of those verbs That unlocks

A huge amount of Spanish Really quickly Once you have it You can ask for permission, you can offer help, say what's possible, say what isn't, like me getting into this restaurant. It's everywhere in real conversation. Let's go for it properly. I can, in Spanish, is, Puedo. Puedo.

So, I can go in or I can enter. Is, Puedo enter. I can enter Entrar means to go in or to enter How do you think you'd say I can't enter or I can't go in? No Puedo enter No Puedo enter Just add no at the beginning

Same as everything else this season Now you can I'm talking to you, you can Puides You can You can Puedes So

you can eat here would be Puezes Comeer here Puezes Comer here Right so I want to flag something here that confuses a lot of learners

When you have two verbs next to each other in Spanish The second one always stays in its infinitive form The base form The Unchanged form. So, let's take Puelez. You can. That's the first verb, and it's been conjugated. It's doing the work of telling you who we're talking about. But the second verb, Comer, to eat, stays exactly as it is. You don't need to change it. You don't conjugate it.

It just sits there in its raw form, the infinitive. Comed So it's not Puéz It's Puades Comer The first verb has been conjugated And the second one right after

hasn't Pue des Commer Aki You can eat here Think of it this way The first verb does all the grammatical work The second verb

Just tags along in its simplest form only ever conjugate one of them. And this rule applies every single time. You've actually been using it all season. Perhaps without even realizing it. Voy to comer.

I'm going to eat. Voy is conjugated. But, Comer stays as Comer. Quiero I want to drink. Quiero is conjugated. I want.

But Beber stays as Beber. Unconjugated. Another example. Necessito Pagar. I need to pay. Necessito as conjugated. Pagar is not.

Same rule every time. First verb changes. Second verb doesn't. Moving on. How would you say you can't eat here? If you were to tell me, Kav, you can't eat here. It's closed. No

Puez come here. No, Puedes Comeer here. He or she can is Puede. Puede. And they can

Pueden. Pueden. So, the full picture. Puedo, I can. Puebes. You, informal, can. Puede. He or she, or you formal, can.

Pueden. They can. Now, just like KERER-P-E-R-E is a stem-changing verb. Boad changes to Pu-D in most forms. Having said that, the endings follow

exactly the same pattern as everything else this season. Bueno, I'm walking back down the street now and I guess I'll look for somewhere else to eat. Okay, there's another place just around the corner. This one is open. There are people inside. In fact, it looks busy.

Good sign. I'm going in. Bueno. It's warm. It smells amazing. And there are pinchos lined up all along the bar. Let me find a seat. So one of the most useful things you can do with Poder is ask for permission.

And to do that, you use, Puedo as a question. Just Puedo. Like, with a question voice. Remember, you don't need to change the words to make a question. Just the intonation. Puedo?

Can I? May I? Pue? Can I sit here? Pueu sentar me here? Puehsentarmé here. Sentarmes. I mean to sit myself down.

And I'm going to use this right now, actually. Pardon, pardon. Uh, I'm here. See? Well, thanks.

Can I see the menu? Pue de la card? Puedo the card? Ver, meaning to see. Puedo see. And when you're done eating,

can I pay? Puedo Pagar? Those three alone will take you a very long way in any Spanish bar. a restaurant. The he or she form, Puede, is what someone uses when they're offering to help or asking if you're able to do something. And actually,

you've already heard this one. Remember back a few episodes when I was lost and I asked a man on the street, me Puedea yuade. Can you help me? Well, that was Puede. You've been using this without even realizing it. Me Puehuehuehdae. Can you help me? Me, Cane Help? Me, can you help? And the waiter might come over to you and say,

Le Puedo I help you? Le Puedo Audea. Le Pueuad. You, can I help? Very polite, very standard in Spain.

And, guys, whilst I've got you, if you want to actually see me in these bars and restaurants in places like San Sebastian, head over to the American. Mercer Spanish YouTube channel. Real places, real conversations. It's all there and it's worth a watch. So it's time we combine Poder with everything we know. Because the pinches have arrived and they look incredible, eh? The great thing about Poderrero is how it naturally combines with everything else we've learned so far. We can say things like, no puldo er, I can't go.

No I can't go to the I can't go on Monday No I can't go on Monday We could even say No I can't go to the playa Because it's raining I can't go to the beach

Because it's raining I can't go on Saturday If it's sunny I can go on Saturday If it's sunny If I mean if I'm going to be

Saturday if if you see sol. Can you take the bus? Quick test. How do you say I can't go in? No, I can't enter. No, I can enter.

How do you say, You can eat it. Pued's come here. Puebes. Comeer. Aki. How would you say, They can?

They can. Pueden. Pueen. Can I sit here? Puehsendarmie here? Puehsendarmie here. How do you ask?

Can I see the menu? Pue de la carte? Puedo ver La How do you ask? Can you help me? Me Puedea

Audea. Me Puede Audad. Or if you were asking somebody informally, me you can't help me

you can't help and how about I can't go on Monday no I can't go the lunas

no I can go on the and finally how would you say

I can go on Saturday if it's sunny I can go the sabbado if does I say sol

I can go the sabado if is a sol I can go El

Sabado Si Ase Sol Very bien Guys I'm really putting you for your paces of this season

So you're doing a fantastic job Well I'm finishing up the pinchos now And just I want you to look at this place If any you could It's packed It's noisy

Everyone's got a glass of something This is exactly what San Sebastian is all about Ah, before I go, listen, if you want to take your Spanish beyond just listening, if you want to start having real conversations and places exactly like this, check out Fluency Builder. It's the immersive Spanish app, and inside it you have your own personal AI Spanish coach called Rodrigo. Rodrigo will talk to you in Spanish, correct your mistakes,

and push you to use everything you're picking up in these episodes. Head over to the immersive Spanish app and get started with Fluency Builder today. Well, So, Viajeros, much thanks, as

always, and well, you know, you know, you know, after the next to the