no pudo

couldn't

→ no
phrase Very common #2,266
couldn't The past-tense form of poder with no. It is followed by an infinitive: no pudo hacerlo means “he/she couldn't do it.”
SP: No pudo encontrar sus llaves antes de salir.
EN: He couldn't find his keys before leaving.

Supongo que fui el único al que no pudo matar.

I guess I was the only one he couldn't kill.

— Los pecadores (2025)

El coche que seguía a Mary no pudo frenar a tiempo.

The car that was following Mary couldn’t stop in time.

Papá estaba de mal humor porque no pudo jugar al golf a causa del mal tiempo.

Dad was in a bad mood because he couldn't play golf due to the bad weather.

Tom no pudo ayudarnos.

Tom couldn't help us.

No pudo haberlo sido, o habrían respondido.

It couldn't have been, or they would have responded.

— “Cumbres Borrascosas” (2026)

Toruk Makto no pudo hacerlo.

Toruk Makto could not do it.

— Avatar: Fuego y ceniza (2025)

En consecuencia no pudo ser el marido, porque lo teníamos nosotros.

Therefore, it couldn't be the husband, because we had him.

— Investigación sobre un ciudadano libre de toda sospecha (1970)

El servidor encontró un error temporal y no pudo completar su orden.

The server encountered a temporary error and was unable to complete your order.

Tom no pudo comprender que quiso decir Mary.

Tom couldn't understand what Mary meant.

No pudo llegar ahí de otra manera.

He couldn't have gotten there any other way.

— Peaky Blinders: El hombre inmortal (2026)

Tom no pudo conseguir que Mary lo dejara solo.

Tom couldn't get Mary to leave him alone.

Tom no pudo expresar sus sentimientos con palabras.

Tom couldn't express his feelings in words.

Tom no pudo contener las lágrimas.

Tom couldn't hold back his tears.

Tom no pudo hacerse escuchar.

Tom couldn't make himself heard.

Tom no pudo decir lo que quería decir.

Tom couldn't say what he wanted to say.

Debido a su hábito de malgastar el dinero, no pudo casarse.

Because of his habit of wasting money, he couldn't get married.

Tom no pudo juntarse con Mary.

Tom couldn't meet up with Mary.

Tom no pudo dormir anoche.

Tom couldn't sleep last night.

Tom no pudo permitirse comprar la bicicleta que quería.

Tom couldn't afford to buy the bike he wanted.

Pero de la que no pudo esconder el resultado.

But the result of which he could not hide.

— Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)

No pudo cerrar la boca.

They couldn't close their mouth.

— मुन्ना भाई एम बी बी एस (2003)

Tom no pudo responder todas las preguntas.

Tom couldn't answer all the questions.

Varelans no pudo detener la pelea.

Varelans couldn't stop the fight.

— The Smashing Machine (2025)

Sabía que no pudo ser tan malo como lo había imaginado.

I knew it couldn't be as bad as I had imagined.

— “Cumbres Borrascosas” (2026)

Él corrió y corrió, pero no pudo alcanzar a su perro.

He ran and ran, but he couldn't catch his dog.

Tom no pudo abrirlo.

Tom couldn't open it.

La anciana se cayó y no pudo levantarse.

The old woman fell and couldn't get up.

No pudo encontrarla y se fue a la segunda casa.

He couldn't find her and went to the second house.

— La linterna roja (1991)

Dan no pudo salvar a los rehenes.

Dan was unable to save the hostages.

Tom no pudo asistir a la reunión.

Tom couldn't attend the meeting.

No pudo haber venido en un peor momento.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Incluso no pudo ir a la escuela.

He couldn't even go to school.

— El Extraño (2016)

Milkha no pudo esperar para verlo correr.

Milkha couldn't wait to see him run.

— Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013)

Tom no pudo comprar el libro que quería.

Tom couldn't buy the book he wanted.

No pudo hacer más.

He couldn't do any more.

Por mucho que intentaba, no pudo abrir la puerta.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open the door.

Tom simplemente no pudo decir que no a una oferta tan buena.

Tom simply couldn’t say no to such a good offer.

Tom había bebido demasiado café así que no pudo dormir.

Tom had drunk too much coffee, so he couldn't sleep.

Si Tom no pudo hacerlo, probablemente nadie más podrá hacerlo tampoco.

If Tom couldn't do it, probably no one else will be able to either.

Tom no pudo comunicarse con Mary por el teléfono.

Tom couldn't reach Mary by phone.

No pudo salir por la nieve.

He/She couldn't leave because of the snow.

Tu gente no pudo hacer funcionar lo del dólar.

Your people couldn't make the dollar thing work.

— Los falsificadores (2007)

Tom no pudo conseguir todo lo que había esperado poder conseguir.

Tom couldn't get everything he had hoped he would be able to get.

Tu espejo no pudo soportar mi rostro.

Your mirror couldn’t bear my face.

— Devdas (2002)

Es pobre y no pudo comprar un abrigo.

He is poor and couldn't afford to buy a coat.

Tom no pudo hacer lo que quería.

Tom couldn't do what he wanted.

El barco no pudo dejar el puerto debido a la tormenta.

The ship was unable to leave the port due to the storm.

Tom no pudo controlar su enfado.

Tom couldn't control his anger.

Tom no pudo ir al concierto porque tenía que trabajar.

Tom couldn't go to the concert because he had to work.

Tom no pudo descartar la posibilidad de que él estuviera equivocado.

Tom couldn't rule out the possibility that he was wrong.

Estaba loco de amor, no pudo resistir.

He was madly in love, he couldn't resist.

— Retrato de una mujer en llamas (2019)

Tom no pudo obtener el empleo que quería.

Tom couldn't get the job he wanted.

Tom no pudo dormir en el bus.

Tom couldn't sleep on the bus.

Tom no pudo ponerse en contacto con Mary.

Tom couldn't get in touch with Mary.

Sami no pudo esperar.

Sami couldn't wait.

No pudo decir mucho.

He couldn't say much.

— La diva (1981)

Tom no pudo ver lo que estaba haciendo Mary.

Tom couldn't see what Mary was doing.

Tom no pudo apartar la mirada de Mary.

Tom couldn't take his eyes off Mary.

No pudo frenar su enojo.

He couldn't control his anger.

Como estaba muy bebido, no pudo llevar el coche de vuelta a casa.

Because he was very drunk, he couldn't drive the car home.

Mamá estaba de mal humor porque no pudo jugar al golf a causa del mal tiempo.

Mom was in a bad mood because she couldn't play golf due to the bad weather.

Tom no pudo ayudar a Mary.

Tom couldn't help Mary.

No pudo haberlo hecho.

He couldn't have done it.

— Titanic (1997)

No tenía dinero, así que no pudo comprar nada para comer.

He didn't have any money, so he couldn't buy anything to eat.

Pero no pudo resistir la extraña fuerza.

But he couldn't resist the strange force.

— Nosferatu (1922)

Tom se quedó sin fósforos así que no pudo prender el fuego.

Tom ran out of matches, so he couldn't light the fire.

Tom no pudo comprender que quería realmente Mary.

Tom couldn't understand what Mary really wanted.

No pudo hacerlo.

He couldn't do it.

— Retrato de una mujer en llamas (2019)

El profesor no pudo haber dicho algo así.

The professor couldn't have said something like that.

Tom no pudo entenderlo mucho.

Tom couldn't understand it very well.

Tom no pudo conseguir que Mary dejara de fumar.

Tom couldn't get Mary to stop smoking.

No pudo superar la muerte de su marido.

She couldn't get over her husband's death.

Tom no pudo contar hasta diez hasta los tres años.

Tom couldn't count to ten until he was three years old.

Tom no pudo hacer que la puerta quedara completamente cerrada.

Tom couldn't get the door to close completely.

Nuestro avión no pudo aterrizar debido a una densa niebla.

Our plane couldn't land due to thick fog.

Tom no pudo convencer a María.

Tom couldn't convince María.

Tom no pudo ir porque no pudo conseguir permiso.

Tom couldn't go because he couldn't get permission.

Tom no pudo descubrirlo.

Tom couldn't figure it out.

Tom tomó mucho café así que no pudo dormir.

Tom drank a lot of coffee, so he couldn’t sleep.

Quizá se hizo monja porque no pudo conseguir un tipo.

Maybe she became a nun because she couldn't get a guy.

— American Splendor (2003)

Tom no pudo perdonar a Mary por matar a sus padres.

Tom couldn't forgive Mary for killing his parents.

Tom ya no pudo quedarse callado.

Tom couldn't stay quiet any longer.

Tomás no pudo ver a María.

Tomás couldn't see María.

No pudo aprobar el examen de ingreso.

He/She couldn't pass the entrance exam.

Tom no pudo responder todas las preguntas de Mary.

Tom couldn't answer all of Mary's questions.

Tom no pudo abrir la puerta.

Tom couldn't open the door.

Su madre no pudo ir, estaba enferma.

Her mother couldn't go, she was sick.

— El espejo (1975)

Tom no pudo asistir a la reunión por un compromiso previo.

Tom couldn't attend the meeting because of a prior commitment.

No pudo haber venido en un mejor momento.

It couldn't have come at a better time.

Tommy no pudo responder a la última pregunta.

Tommy couldn't answer the last question.

Tom no pudo comerse todo el sándwich.

Tom couldn't eat the whole sandwich.

No pudo hablar porque la audiencia era demasiado ruidosa.

He couldn't speak because the audience was too noisy.

Ese niño no pudo entrar por temor al perro.

That boy couldn't go in because he was afraid of the dog.

Tom no pudo comprender qué trataba de decir Mary.

Tom couldn't understand what Mary was trying to say.

No pudo moverse.

He couldn't move.

Según el informe de balística, esta pistola no pudo ser el arma del crimen.

According to the ballistics report, this pistol could not have been the murder weapon.

Tom no pudo conseguir que Mary lo hiciera.

Tom couldn't get Mary to do it.

Estaba tan cansado que casi no pudo mantenerse en pie.

He was so tired he could barely stand up.

Tom no pudo contener su rabia.

Tom couldn't contain his anger.

Mi papá no pudo verlo.

My dad couldn't see it.

— It (Eso) (2017)

Tom no pudo hackear ese sitio web.

Tom couldn't hack that website.

A causa de la fuerte lluvia, no pudo salir.

Because of the heavy rain, he couldn't go out.

Tom no pudo decir ni una palabra.

Tom couldn't say a word.

Le hizo preguntas que no pudo responder.

He asked him questions he couldn’t answer.

Tom no pudo levantar la maleta de Mary.

Tom couldn't lift Mary's suitcase.

Thomas no pudo hacer su tarea debido a un accidente.

Thomas was unable to do his homework due to an accident.

Tom no pudo dormir bien anoche porque había mucho ruido afuera de su pieza.

Tom couldn't sleep well last night because there was a lot of noise outside his room.

Tom no pudo persuadir a Mary para que le comprase un regalo a John.

Tom couldn't persuade Mary to buy John a present.

Apenas les va a escribir que no pudo hacerlo, ¿verdad?

He's just going to write and tell them he couldn't do it, right?

— Super 30 (2019)

No pudo conservar su trabajo a causa de situaciones ajenas a su control.

He couldn't keep his job due to circumstances beyond his control.

Tom no pudo tomar una decisión inmediata.

Tom couldn't make an immediate decision.

Tom no pudo acudir a la reunión porque estaba enfermo.

Tom couldn't attend the meeting because he was sick.

Ya no pudo contenerse.

He could no longer contain himself.

Según la denuncia, no pudo aportar.

According to the complaint, he was unable to contribute.

— Contratiempo (2017)

Tom no pudo averiguar la dirección de Mary.

Tom couldn't find out Mary's address.

No pudo haberlo agarrado.

He couldn't have grabbed it.

— El señor de los anillos: El retorno del rey (2003)

No tenía dinero, así que no pudo comprar comida.

He had no money, so he couldn't buy food.

Tom no pudo comprender de qué estaba hablando Mary.

Tom couldn't understand what Mary was talking about.

No pudo hacer nada excepto mirar.

He could do nothing but watch.

Su emoción fue tan grande que no pudo pronunciar palabra.

Her emotion was so great that she couldn't utter a word.

Tom no pudo conseguir el libro que quería.

Tom couldn't get the book he wanted.

No pudo ser un accidente.

It couldn't have been an accident.

— Rebeca (1940)

Tom no pudo contactar a Mary.

Tom couldn't contact Mary.

Tom no pudo hacer nada hasta mucho más tarde.

Tom couldn't do anything until much later.

Tom no pudo controlar sus emociones.

Tom couldn't control his emotions.

Sí, probablemente la puerta se atascó y no pudo volver a cubierta.

Yes, the door probably got stuck and couldn't return to the deck.

— Rebeca (1940)

Tom no pudo ir con nosotros a Boston porque no tenía suficiente dinero.

Tom couldn't go to Boston with us because he didn't have enough money.

Tom no pudo descifrar el mensaje secreto.

Tom couldn't decipher the secret message.

Tom no pudo oír lo que estaba diciendo Mary.

Tom couldn’t hear what Mary was saying.

El niño no pudo cruzar el río a nado.

The boy couldn't swim across the river.

El fontanero vino ayer pero no pudo arreglar la fuga todavía.

The plumber came yesterday but couldn't fix the leak yet.

Tomás no pudo disparar al oso.

Tomás couldn't shoot the bear.

No pudo acercarse al árbol seco, a la orilla.

He could not approach the dry tree on the shore.

— La infancia de Iván (1962)

Tom no pudo recordar en dónde había estado aquella noche.

Tom couldn't remember where he had been that night.

El chico no pudo continuar con las actividades en el colegio.

The boy was unable to continue with his school activities.

No pudo encender su carro.

He couldn't start his car.

Tom no pudo ver lo que hacía Mary.

Tom couldn't see what Mary was doing.

Sugimura no pudo hacerlo contigo.

Sugimura couldn't do it with you.

— Battle Royale (2000)

Tom no pudo arrancar su auto.

Tom couldn't start his car.