Can, Want, Should
Say what you can do, want to do and should do — in real spoken sentences.
The pattern is modal + infinitive: only the first verb conjugates, the second never changes — puedo hablar, quiero comer, debo estudiar, never puedo hablo. Two of them change their stem in the present: poder is o→ue (puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, pueden) and querer is e→ie (quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, quieren). The nuance worth knowing: deber leans should — advice — while tener que leans have to: debes comer más verduras, but tengo que ir al supermercado. And soler + infinitive covers habits without any extra grammar: suelo despertarme a las siete.
Below: each modal lesson by lesson, how Argentina's vos changes the forms you'll hear, the classic slips — and how you practise it all by talking about your own plans, not with flashcards or drills.
Say this
Regional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico & most of Latin America | Argentina (vos) |
|---|---|---|
| Can you help me? | ¿Puedes ayudarme? | ¿Podés ayudarme? |
| What do you want (to drink)? | ¿Qué quieres? | ¿Qué querés tomar? |
| You have to go | Tienes que ir | Tenés que ir |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Carla
Your grammar teacher for this pack
No flashcards, no fill-in-the-blanks. In the Can, Want, Should lessons you talk, and Carla keeps handing you real openings: two things you can do and one you can't — puedo, no puedo — then what you actually want this weekend: quiero descansar, quiero salir con amigos. She'll push you to feel the difference between advice and obligation out loud — debes comer sano vs tienes que ir al doctor — and by the last lesson you're describing your mornings with suelo despertarme a las siete, suelo desayunar café, chaining modals the way the sentences actually come out in conversation.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 5 lessons and Can, Want, Should is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
Deber is advice or moral duty — should: debes comer más verduras. Tener que is external necessity — have to: tengo que ir al supermercado, tienes que ir al doctor.
With the o→ue stem change: puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, pueden — no puedo dormir con este ruido. The catch is remembering the change: it's puedo, never podo.
No — only the modal conjugates; the second verb stays in the infinitive: puedo hablar, quiero aprender a tocar la guitarra, debo estudiar. Never puedo hablo.
Soler + infinitive means to usually do something: suelo despertarme a las siete, ¿qué sueles hacer los fines de semana? In the past it's used to: de niño, solía jugar en el parque.
Quiero + infinitive: quiero aprender a tocar la guitarra, ¿quieres ir al cine esta noche? For cravings, Mexicans often say se me antoja un taco, and across the Caribbean you'll hear tengo ganas de salir.
