Monday, October 11, 2010

Saber v. Conocer

Both the verbs saber and conocer mean to know, but they are not interchangeable in the Spanish language.

Saber is used to mean to know information, facts, or how to do something. It is conjugated as follows, and is pretty regular with the exception of the first person singular (the yo form):



saber
to know
yo
nosotros sabemos
sabes
vosotros sabéis
él, ella, Ud. sabe
ellos, ellas, Uds. saben


¿Sabes que España ganó la Copa Mundial? Do you know that Spain won the World Cup?


Muriel sabe que la leche viene de las vacas. Muriel knows that milk comes from cows.

tocar la guitarra muy bien. I know how to play the guitar very well.


In the preterit, saber means to find out:

Mis padres supieron que ya nos casamos. My parents found out that we already got married.



The verb conocer means to know as in a person, place, or thing. It takes on the significance of "being familiar" with someone or something. The conjugation is regular with the exception of the yo form.



conocer
to know
yo conozco
nosotros conocemos
conoces
vosotros conocéis
él, ella, Ud. conoce
ellos, ellas, Uds. conocen


A lot of times, the verb conocer is accompanied by a personal "a":

Miguel conoce a Adriana. Miguel knows Adriana.

Nosotros conocemos la ciudad de Bogotá muy bien. We know(are familiar with) the city of Bogotá very well.


Like saber, the verb conocer means something a little different in the preterit tense. It signifies "to meet":

Yo conocí a Maribel el año pasado. I met Maribel last year.

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