Why “Saber” Matters
“Saber” is one of those core Spanish verbs that you absolutely need to know. It’s an irregular verb that translates to “to know” in English, and you’ll use it constantly to talk about facts, information, and abilities. Basically, if you want to express what you know in Spanish, mastering “saber” is non-negotiable.
“Saber” vs. “Conocer”: A Key Distinction
Now, here’s where things can get a little tricky. Spanish actually has two verbs that mean “to know”: “saber” and “conocer.” While they both translate the same way, they’re used in different contexts. Remember that “saber” is for knowing facts, information, and how to do things. You’ll use “conocer” when you know people or are familiar with places. Getting this distinction down is crucial for avoiding common mistakes.
What You’ll Learn
This guide will walk you through every single “saber” conjugation you need to know, across all the major tenses and moods. We’ll cover the indicative, subjunctive, and even the imperative moods, including both simple and compound tenses. Plus, we’ll throw in some practice exercises and helpful tips to solidify your understanding. By the end, you’ll be a “saber” conjugation pro!
Saber Verbals
Like all Spanish verbs, saber also has non-finite, or verbal, forms. These forms don’t express tense.
Infinitive: Saber
The infinitive is the base form of the verb. For example: Es importante saber la verdad. (It’s important to know the truth.)
Gerund: Sabiendo
The gerund expresses an ongoing action. For example: Sabiendo los riesgos, decidió continuar. (Knowing the risks, he decided to continue.)
Past Participle: Sabido
The past participle is used in compound tenses. For example: He sabido la respuesta por mucho tiempo. (I have known the answer for a long time.)
Saber Conjugation: Indicative Mood – Simple Tenses
Let’s explore how saber changes depending on the tense you’re using. We’ll focus on the indicative mood and simple tenses for now.
Present Tense
Yo sé, Tú sabes, Él/Ella/Ud. sabe, Nosotros sabemos, Vosotros sabéis, Ellos/Ellas/Uds. saben
Use the present tense to talk about things you currently know or facts. For example:
- “Yo sé hablar español” (I know how to speak Spanish).
- “¿Sabes dónde está el banco?” (Do you know where the bank is?)
Preterite Tense
Yo supe, Tú supiste, Él/Ella/Ud. supo, Nosotros supimos, Vosotros supisteis, Ellos/Ellas/Uds. supieron
The preterite is for talking about knowledge you acquired at a specific point in the past. Consider these examples:
- “Ayer supe la noticia” (Yesterday I learned the news).
- “Nosotros nunca supimos quién era el villano de la película.” (We never knew who the villain was in the movie).
Imperfect Tense
Yo sabía, Tú sabías, Él/Ella/Ud. sabía, Nosotros sabíamos, Vosotros sabíais, Ellos/Ellas/Uds. sabían
Use the imperfect to talk about knowledge you had habitually or continuously in the past. For instance:
- “Yo sabía la respuesta, pero la olvidé” (I knew the answer, but I forgot it).
- “Antes, ella siempre sabía los nombres de todos.” (Before, she always knew everyone’s names).
Future Tense
Yo sabré, Tú sabrás, Él/Ella/Ud. sabrá, Nosotros sabremos, Vosotros sabréis, Ellos/Ellas/Uds. sabrán
The future tense is for talking about knowledge you will acquire later. Check out these examples:
- “Sabré la verdad mañana” (I will know the truth tomorrow).
- “Al final, yo sabré la verdad.” (In the end, I will know the truth).
Conditional Tense
Yo sabría, Tú sabrías, Él/Ella/Ud. sabría, Nosotros sabríamos, Vosotros sabríais, Ellos/Ellas/Uds. sabrían
Use the conditional to say what someone would know under certain conditions. For example:
- “Yo sabría la respuesta si hubiera estudiado” (I would know the answer if I had studied).
- “Si tuviera más tiempo, sabría más sobre el tema.” (If I had more time, I would know more about the subject).
Saber Conjugation: Indicative Mood – Compound Tenses
Compound tenses combine a form of the auxiliary verb haber (to have) with the past participle of saber (sabido). Here’s a breakdown:
Present Perfect (Yo he sabido, Tú has sabido, Él/Ella/Ud. ha sabido, Nosotros hemos sabido, Vosotros habéis sabido, Ellos/Ellas/Uds. han sabido)
Use the present perfect to talk about something you’ve learned recently or something that’s still relevant now.
Example: He sabido que vas a viajar (I have learned that you are going to travel).
Past Perfect (Pluperfect) (Yo había sabido, Tú habías sabido, Él/Ella/Ud. había sabido, Nosotros habíamos sabido, Vosotros habíais sabido, Ellos/Ellas/Uds. habían sabido)
Use the past perfect to talk about something you learned before something else happened in the past.
Example: Ya había sabido la noticia cuando llegaste (I had already known the news when you arrived).
Future Perfect (Yo habré sabido, Tú habrás sabido, Él/Ella/Ud. habrá sabido, Nosotros habremos sabido, Vosotros habréis sabido, Ellos/Ellas/Uds. habrán sabido)
Use the future perfect to talk about something you will have learned by a specific time in the future.
Example: Para entonces, ya habré sabido la verdad (By then, I will have already known the truth).
Conditional Perfect (Yo habría sabido, Tú habrías sabido, Él/Ella/Ud. habría sabido, Nosotros habríamos sabido, Vosotros habríais sabido, Ellos/Ellas/Uds. habrían sabido)
Use the conditional perfect to talk about something you would have known under certain conditions in the past.
Example: Habría sabido la respuesta si me lo hubieras preguntado (I would have known the answer if you had asked me).
Preterite Perfect (Past Anterior) (Yo hube sabido, Tú hubiste sabido, Él/Ella/Ud. hubo sabido, Nosotros hubimos sabido, Vosotros hubisteis sabido, Ellos/Ellas/Uds. hubieron sabido)
This tense is used less often. It expresses something you learned immediately before something else happened in the past.
Example: Apenas hube sabido la noticia, te llamé (As soon as I had learned the news, I called you).
Saber Conjugation: Subjunctive Mood – Simple Tenses
The subjunctive mood is used to express doubts, wishes, possibilities, and other non-factual situations. Here’s how saber conjugates in the simple tenses of the subjunctive mood:
Present Subjunctive
Conjugations: Yo sepa, Tú sepas, Él/Ella/Ud. sepa, Nosotros sepamos, Vosotros sepáis, Ellos/Ellas/Uds. sepan
Usage: Use the present subjunctive to express doubt, uncertainty, desire, or emotion related to knowing something.
Examples:
- Es importante que sepas la verdad (It’s important that you know the truth).
- No creo que él sepa la respuesta. (I don’t think he knows the answer.)
Imperfect Subjunctive
Conjugations: Yo supiera/supiese, Tú supieras/supieses, Él/Ella/Ud. supiera/supiese, Nosotros supiéramos/supiésemos, Vosotros supierais/supieseis, Ellos/Ellas/Uds. supieran/supiesen
Usage: Use the imperfect subjunctive to express hypothetical or past subjunctive situations related to knowing something.
Examples:
- Si yo supiera la respuesta, te lo diría (If I knew the answer, I would tell you).
- Quería que supieras la verdad. (I wanted you to know the truth.)
Future Subjunctive
Conjugations: Yo supiere, Tú supieres, Él/Ella/Ud. supiere, Nosotros supiéremos, Vosotros supiereis, Ellos/Ellas/Uds. supieren
Usage: The future subjunctive is rare and typically found in legal or formal contexts. It expresses a future possibility of knowing something.
Example:
- Si alguien supiere de su paradero, favor de notificar. (If anyone should know of his whereabouts, please notify).
Saber Conjugation: Subjunctive Mood – Compound Tenses
The subjunctive mood in Spanish is used to express doubts, wishes, possibilities, and other subjective situations. Here’s how saber conjugates in the compound tenses of the subjunctive mood:
Present Perfect Subjunctive
- Yo haya sabido (I have known)
- Tú hayas sabido (You have known)
- Él/Ella/Ud. haya sabido (He/She/You formal have known)
- Nosotros hayamos sabido (We have known)
- Vosotros hayáis sabido (You all have known – Spain)
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds. hayan sabido (They/You all formal have known)
Usage: This tense expresses doubt, uncertainty, desire, or emotion about having known something.
Example: Dudo que hayan sabido la verdad (I doubt that they have known the truth).
Pluperfect Subjunctive
- Yo hubiera/hubiese sabido (I had known)
- Tú hubieras/hubieses sabido (You had known)
- Él/Ella/Ud. hubiera/hubiese sabido (He/She/You formal had known)
- Nosotros hubiéramos/hubiésemos sabido (We had known)
- Vosotros hubierais/hubieseis sabido (You all had known – Spain)
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds. hubieran/hubiesen sabido (They/You all formal had known)
Usage: Expresses hypothetical past situations where someone would have known something.
Example: Si hubiera sabido la respuesta, te lo habría dicho (If I had known the answer, I would have told you).
Future Perfect Subjunctive
- Yo hubiere sabido (I will have known)
- Tú hubieres sabido (You will have known)
- Él/Ella/Ud. hubiere sabido (He/She/You formal will have known)
- Nosotros hubiéremos sabido (We will have known)
- Vosotros hubiereis sabido (You all will have known – Spain)
- Ellos/Ellas/Uds. hubieren sabido (They/You all formal will have known)
Usage: This tense is very rare. It expresses a condition of having known something in the future.
Example: Si para entonces hubiere sabido la verdad… (If by then I should have known the truth…).
Saber Conjugation: Imperative Mood
The imperative mood is for commands and instructions, but it’s not used much with saber. It’s mostly for telling someone to know something.
Here are the forms (only for “tú” and “usted,” and their plural forms):
- “Sabe tú” (Know, you – informal) – rarely used
- “Sepa usted” (Know, you – formal) – rarely used
Example: “¡Sepa usted que esto es importante!” (Know that this is important!) – This is very formal.
Common Phrases and Idioms with “Saber”
The verb “saber” shows up in tons of useful Spanish phrases. Here are a few common ones:
- “Saber a…” (To taste like…)
This one’s pretty straightforward. For example, “Esta sopa sabe a pollo” means “This soup tastes like chicken.” - “Saber de memoria” (To know by heart)
When you’ve memorized something completely, you “saber de memoria.” For instance, “Ella sabe el poema de memoria” translates to “She knows the poem by heart.” - “Hacer saber” (To let someone know)
This phrase is used to indicate that you’re informing someone about something. Like, “Por favor, hazme saber si necesitas ayuda” means “Please let me know if you need help.” - “A saber” (Namely, that is to say)
Use “a saber” to introduce a list or explanation. An example would be, “Hay varios problemas, a saber: falta de tiempo, dinero y personal,” which means “There are several problems, namely: lack of time, money, and personnel.”
Tips and Tricks for Mastering Saber Conjugations
Learning irregular verb conjugations takes time and effort. Here are some tips that can help you master saber:
- Practice Regularly: Repetition is key! Use flashcards, online quizzes, and language learning apps to drill yourself.
- Immerse Yourself: Surround yourself with Spanish. Watch movies and TV shows, listen to podcasts and music. The more you hear the language, the more natural it will become.
- Focus on Context: Pay attention to how saber is used in different situations. Notice the words and phrases around it. This will help you understand its nuances.
- Speak Up! Don’t be afraid to practice speaking Spanish. Find a language partner or talk to native speakers. Making mistakes is part of the learning process!
- Saber vs. Conocer: Remember the difference between saber and conocer. If you can replace “to know” with “to meet,” use conocer instead.
With consistent effort, you’ll be conjugating saber like a pro in no time!
The Bottom Line
Saber is an irregular verb that means “to know” — specifically, to know facts, information, or how to do something. You’ll need to know how to conjugate saber in a variety of tenses and moods, including indicative, subjunctive, and imperative. And it’s important to remember that saber is different from conocer, which also means “to know.”
Mastering saber requires consistent practice, so be sure to use the resources and tips in this guide. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself, and celebrate your progress as you go.
As you become more confident in your ability to conjugate saber, you’ll be able to communicate more effectively in Spanish. So keep practicing, and keep exploring the beauty and richness of the Spanish language. ¡Buena suerte!