ellos pudieron

could, were able to

→ poder
pud can; be able to + ieron 3rd person plural past
auxiliary · third plural · past indicative Rare #24,189
could Simple past (preterite), third-person plural of “poder” (they/you all could).
SP: No pudieron venir ayer.
EN: They couldn't come yesterday.
Conjugation of poder
Indicative past
SingularPlural
First pude pudimos
Second pudiste —
Third pudo pudieron

Pudieron habérselo llevado tan pronto como les tomara declaración.

They could have taken him away as soon as he took their statements.

— Ghost in the Shell (1995)

No me pudieron juzgar.

They couldn't judge me.

Hemos interrogado a todos los que pudieron verlas.

We have questioned everyone who could have seen them.

— Mystic River (2003)

Como tú y Chad, nunca antes pudieron hacerlo.

Like you and Chad, they were never able to do it before.

— Killer Whale (2026)

Cómo pudieron hacer eso?

How could they do that?

— Sin amor (2017)

En esa época, ¿qué tan graves pudieron haber sido sus problemas?

At that time, how serious could his problems have been?

— Guardianes del día (2006)

Los que tuvieron suerte pudieron esperar en una cafetería.

Those who were lucky were able to wait in a cafe.

Aquí MCC ¿pudieron sacar el agua?

Were they able to pump the water out here at MCC?

— Salyut-7: Héroes en el espacio (2017)

Ellos pudieron haber huido.

They could have escaped.

Todos pudieron oír lo que dijo Tom.

Everyone could hear what Tom said.

Por fortuna pudieron escapar.

Fortunately, they were able to escape.

Ya no se pudieron controlar.

They could no longer be controlled.

Hubo muchos que no lo pudieron reconocer con ese disfraz.

There were many who couldn't recognize him in that disguise.

verb · third plural · past indicative Rare #27,387
could, were able to Simple past (preterite), third-person plural of "poder".
SP: No pudieron entrar porque la tienda estaba cerrada.
EN: They couldn't come in because the store was closed.
Conjugation of poder
Indicative past
SingularPlural
First pude pudimos
Second pudiste —
Third pudo pudieron

Unos tipos mayores lo intentaron antes y no pudieron.

Some older guys tried it before and couldn't do it.

— El gran diluvio (2025)

Los doctores hicieron todo lo que pudieron para mantener con vida a Tom.

The doctors did everything they could to keep Tom alive.

Seguí andando hasta que mis pies no pudieron más.

I kept walking until my feet couldn't take it anymore.

Lo que pudieron.

What they could.

— Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Ustedes lo hicieron lo mejor que pudieron.

You did the best you could.

Ellos gritaron tan fuerte como pudieron.

They screamed as loudly as they could.

Y se lo hicieron saber cada vez que pudieron.

And they let him know every chance they got.

— The Running Man (2025)

Y quieren que hagamos algo que los jinetes jamás pudieron.

And they want us to do something the horsemen never could.

— Ahora me ves 3 (2025)

Lo hicieron lo mejor que pudieron.

They did the best they could.

Todos corrieron para ponerse a salvo como pudieron.

Everyone ran to get to safety as best they could.

— El arca rusa (2002)