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With most (but not all) verbs of perception (ver, oler, oír) the present tense of these verbs is usually used in Spanish, whilst in English the modal verb to be able is needed ("I can see", "I can smell", "I can hear")
In Spanish it is not usually necessary to use the modal verb "poder". We can use the perception verb directly in El Presente.
Here are some examples:
Yo veo muy bien con mis gafas nuevas.I can see very well with my new glasses. [lit: I see very well]
We could also use the modal verb poder and it would be grammatically correct, but it is much more common to use these verbs directly in the present tense, without poder. Look at these examples:
- Yo puedo ver muy bien con mis gafas nuevas.
- María no puede oír bien.
- ¿Tu puedes oler a gas?
- Puedo sentir la brisa del mar.
Saber = to taste
Bear in mind that with the verb "saber" (to taste), is used to talk in the 3rd person singular or plural, so you say "something tastes nice/bad" or "some things taste nice/bad". For example:
Here, the modal verb "poder" is not used.
Extra note on other verbs using the present in Spanish:
When the verb "encontrar" (to find) is used in the negative in El Presente, we also follow this rule. We use encontrar directly in El Presente with no modal verb (e.g. We normally say "No encuentro" and much less frequently poder encontrar). However, in English using "to find" in the present tense is not an option. For example:
I don't find my keys!
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