Mis amigos ___ (poder) ir a la fiesta. [irregular preterite]

Understanding the Use of "poder" in the Preterite Tense

When we want to say "they were able to" or "you all were able to" in the preterite tense, we need to use the correct conjugation of "poder." In the sentence "Mis amigos ___ (poder) ir a la fiesta," we are talking about friends being able to go to the party in the past.

The correct conjugation of "poder" for the third person plural (they) is "pudieron." However, in this particular sentence, the context suggests that we are talking about friends, which is a second person plural subject (you all).

Therefore, the correct answer for the sentence would be "pudieron," which means "they were able to." This is because "pudieron" can also be used to address a group of people informally as "you all were able to."

It's important to pay attention to the subject of the sentence and choose the appropriate conjugation of "poder" in the preterite tense to convey the intended meaning accurately.

Mis amigos ___ (poder) ir a la fiesta. [irregular preterite]

Answer: pueden Explanation: Pueden can mean you all can or they can, so in this sentence "pueden" is the answer.