Greetings!

If I wanted to say, "Yo pude ver lo mismo" and in other line "Yo podría ver lo mismo"
How could I write it?

My question is because I have seen both expressions written of same way.

"I could see the same" I know the modal "would" but my question is about the modal "could" for past tense and as future possibly.

The first, thanks.

Question

Greetings!

If I wanted to say, "Yo pude ver lo mismo" and in other line "Yo podría ver lo mismo"
How could I write it?

My question is because I have seen both expressions written of same way.

"I could see the same" I know the modal "would" but my question is about the modal "could" for past tense and as future possibly.

The first, thanks.

Answer

Tienes razón, 'could' puede ser 'podía/pude' y 'podría'. En un caso de ambigüedad como este (o si quieres expresar los dos sentidos de la palabra en dos frases seguidas), los nativos suelen sustituir 'can' con su equivalente 'to be able to' para que no quepa ninguna duda. Así 'yo pude ver' sería 'I was able to see' y 'yo podría ver' sería 'I would be able to see'.