why "puede esperarme". you wait for me

 lo siento, estoy atrasado. ¿puedes esperarme?  sorry i am late. Can you wait for me?

Puede esperarme?   can you wait for me ????  Rocket says this is correct

I thought is should be :   Puedes esperarme ?  can you wait for me ?

Why not Puede esperarme?  He can wait for you?

My guess is they are being polite since they are late. They are showing respect while asking for a favor. I look forward to the “official” answer!

¡Hola jrsundy y Scott_C!

Thanks for your question! 

Scott_C is right: in this sentence, the verb poder “can / to be able to” is conjugated in the usted “you (formal)” form, which means the speaker is being respectful and polite. You could absolutely also say ¿Puedes esperarme? “Can (you) wait for me?” if you wanted to; however, in this case, the verb poder “can / to be able to” would be in the tú “you” form, which is informal.

If you're ever unsure about the form of a verb that is conjugated with “you,” you can check to see if any notations are visible and mouse over them (or tap on them if you're on a mobile device). This will explain the verb form being used:
 

These kinds of notations are also always visible in the activities at the end of each lesson, to let you know which verb form is expected. 

As for the part of your question about puede being translated as “(he) can”: Since the usted “you (formal)” verb form is identical to the él “he” and ella “she” verb forms, ¿Puede esperarme? can actually be translated as “Can (you (formal)) wait for me?”; “Can (he) wait for me?”; or “Can (she) wait for me?” - it all depends on the context.

If you have any other questions, just let me know! And if you'd like some more information about using tú and usted, you might want to check out Lesson 1.10: “'You,' ‘He,’ and Other Pronouns” under the heading "Which ‘You’ Should You Use?"

I hope that this helps!

Saludos,

Liss