54 Seeking and giving permission
This chapter considers the ways in which Spanish expresses the concept of permission,
in formal as well as in informal situations, both orally and in writing.54.1 Seeking permission
To seek permission, as in ‘May/can I can come in?’, ‘Let me come in’, ‘Do you mind if I
come in?’, Spanish, like English, uses a number of verbs and expressions. Of these, the
most common are the following:54.1.1 Poder+ infinitive
To seek or request permission to do something we normally use poder, ‘may’, ‘can’,
followed by an infinitive.
¿Puedo entrar?
May/can I come in?
¿Puedo dejar mi maleta aquí?
May/can I leave my suitcase here?
¿Podemos pasar?
May/can we come in?
¿Podemos esperar alli?
May/can we wait over there?21.1 (p. 99)
54.1.2 ¿Se puede+ infinitive?
This impersonal construction, used when asking whether something is allowed,
corresponds in meaning to English phrases such as ‘can you... ?’, ‘can one... ?’, ‘are
you allowed to... ?’. 42.1.2 (p. 248)
¿Se puede acampar en la playa?
Can one/you camp on the beach? (Are you allowed to camp on the
beach?)
¿Se puede fumar?
Can one/you smoke? (Is smoking allowed?)