"I can" = "puedo" or "yo puedo" ?

[mrs7angel]

Hello everyone

I need to know how to say "I can" in spanish. I know that "I can" is "puedo" but I heard people that say "yo puedo" and that confuse me.

I need to say "I can" but not in a sentence - these words only. I want to say "I can" as in an emotional, psychological way, like "I can do this" as an encouraging for hard times.

something tells me that "yo puedo" is right and it also sounds better that just "puedo". can someone tells me the right way to say it and also the differences between the 2 ways ?

Thank you !

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Using the personal pronoun or not depends on your intention: If you want to emphasize the person or to avoid a possible ambiguity in meaning, you use the personal pronoun. Otherwise, you don't.

Your sentence would most probably become "Sí puedo" (Yes, I can), to emphasize the fact that you actually can do something, in opposition to the idea that you may not be able to make it.

[mrs7angel]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

Using the personal pronoun or not depends on your intention: If you want to emphasize the person or to avoid a possible ambiguity in meaning, you use the personal pronoun. Otherwise, you don't.

Your sentence would most probably become "Sí puedo" (Yes, I can), to emphasize the fact that you actually can do something, in opposition to the idea that you may not be able to make it.

Thank you so much !

I don't want to write (I'm going to write it on something that I see everyday, maybe a tatto) "si puedo" because I don't want it to mean "yes, I can", I want it to mean "I can" (picture someone that says "I can" to themselves before a competition or something) to remind myself not to give up and that I can make it. So you're saying that if I'll write "yo puedo" it will be correct ? thank you so much for replying !

[Rusty]

To cheer yourself on, I would use, "¡Sí que puedo!" This is the equivalent of, "Yes, I can!"

(Notice the inverted exclamation point before the first word and the accent mark above the vowel in the first word. Without these, your encouraging remark turns into something less than encouraging.)

[ronburgundyjr]

something tells me that "yo puedo" is right and it also sounds better that just "puedo". can someone tells me the right way to say it and also the differences between the 2 ways ?

There is no difference between "yo puedo" and "puedo", as both exactly mean "I can." But, typically a native speaker would just say "puedo" because the subject is unambiguous, "yo" is already implied, so "yo puedo" does not sound any better, and would be less common than, just "puedo."