Conocer & Saber/ to know

In Spanish, there are two verbs that are equivalent to the English verb to know: conocer and saber. They are used to express distinct types of knowledge; they are NOT interchangeable.

 

CONOCER/ TO KNOW

Pronoun	Present	Past	Future	Conditional
yo/ I	conozco	conocí	conoceré	conocería
tú/ you	conoces	conociste	conocerás	conocerías
él, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	conoce	conoció	conocerá	conocería
nos./ we	conocemos	conocimos	conoceremos	conoceríamos
vos./you	conocéis	conocisteis	conoceréis	conoceríais
ellos, Uds./ they, you	conocen	conocieron	conocerán	conocerían

1. Conocer is used to express familiarity or acquaintance with a person, a place, or a thing.

EXAMPLES

·         Conozco a tu mamá./ I know your mother. (person)

·         Ella conoce Bariloche muy bien./ She knows Bariloche very well. (place)

·         Ana conoce el idioma./ Ana knows the language.(thing)

NOTE: The preposition a is required before a direct object noun (mamá) only when that noun is a person, but a is NOT required when referring to a place or thing (Bariloche, idioma).

 

2. Conocer means to meet for the first time or to make someone's acquaintance.

EXAMPLES

·         Conocí a tu mamá./ I met your mother.

·         Voy a conocer a los padres de mi prometido./ I am going to meet my fiancée's parents.

NOTE: In Spanish, the past tense of conocer expresses the meaning of meeting someone for the first time.

 

SABER/ TO KNOW

Pronoun	Present	Past	Future	Conditional
yo/ I	sé	supe	sabré	sabría
tú/ you	sabes	supiste	sabrás	sabrías
él, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	sabe	supo	sabrá	sabría
nos./ we	sabemos	supimos	sabremos	sabríamos
vos./you	sabéis	supisteis	sabréis	sabríais
ellos, Uds./ they, you	saben	supieron	sabrán	sabrían

1. Saber is used to express knowledge of factual information.

EXAMPLES

·         Sé dónde queda Buenos Aires./ I know where Buenos Aires is.

·         Pedro sabe de qué hablamos./ Pedro knows about what we talked.

 

2. Saber means to know something by heart.

EXAMPLES

·         Sé esa canción (de memoria)./ I know that song (by heart).

·         Sabíamos todas las óperas./ We used to know all of the operas.

 

3. Saber + infinitive.

This construction is used to indicate knowledge of how to do something.

EXAMPLE

·         Nosotros sabemos cocinar./ We know how to cook.

·         Mi hijo sabe nadar./ My son knows how to swim.