How to conjugate Saber in Spanish
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Indicative tenses of Saber
- Saber in the Indicative Present
- Saber in the Indicative Preterite
- Saber in the Indicative Imperfect
- Saber in the Indicative Future
- Saber in the Indicative Conditional
- Saber in the Indicative Present Perfect
- Saber in the Indicative Past Perfect
- Saber in the Indicative Future Perfect
- Saber in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
- Subjunctive tenses of Saber
- Saber in the Subjunctive Present
- Saber in the Subjunctive Imperfect
- Saber in the Subjunctive Future
- Saber in the Subjunctive Present Perfect
- Saber in the Subjunctive Past Perfect
- Saber in the Subjunctive Future Perfect
- Imperative tenses of Saber
- Saber in the Imperative Affirmative
- Saber in the Imperative Negative
- Example sentences and usage
Introduction
Saber is the Spanish verb meaning "to know" (things). It is mostly used to portray knowledge - for example: "I speak Spanish" and "I know all the capital cities in Europe". It can also be used to express taste; for example: "The cake tastes like chocolate and orange". Saber is not to be confused with Conocer, also meaning "to know" but used in different situations.
| Spanish | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | saber | to know (things) |
| Past participle | sabido | known |
| Gerund | sabiendo | knowing |
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Indicative Tenses of Saber
Saber in the Indicative Present
The Indicative Present of saber is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, "sé español", meaning "I know Spanish".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | sé | I know |
| Tú | sabes | you know |
| Ella / Él / Usted | sabe | s/he know, you (formal) know |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | sabemos | we know |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | sabéis | you (plural) know |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | saben | they know, you (plural formal) know |
Saber in the Indicative Preterite
The Indicative Preterite of saber is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, "supe español", meaning "I knew Spanish".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | supe | I knew |
| Tú | supiste | you knew |
| Ella / Él / Usted | supo | s/he knew, you (formal) knew |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | supimos | we knew |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | supisteis | you (plural) knew |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | supieron | they knew, you (plural formal) knew |
Saber in the Indicative Imperfect
The Indicative Imperfect of saber is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, "sabía español", meaning "I used to know Spanish".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | sabía | I used to know |
| Tú | sabías | you used to know |
| Ella / Él / Usted | sabía | s/he used to know, you (formal) used to know |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | sabíamos | we used to know |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | sabíais | you (plural) used to know |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | sabían | they used to know, you (plural formal) used to know |
Saber in the Indicative Future
The Indicative Future of saber is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, "sabré español", meaning "I will know Spanish".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | sabré | I will know |
| Tú | sabrás | you will know |
| Ella / Él / Usted | sabrá | s/he will know, you (formal) will know |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | sabremos | we will know |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | sabréis | you (plural) will know |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | sabrán | they will know, you (plural formal) will know |
Saber in the Indicative Conditional
The Indicative Conditional of saber is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, "sabría español", meaning "I would know Spanish".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | sabría | I would know |
| Tú | sabrías | you would know |
| Ella / Él / Usted | sabría | s/he would know, you (formal) would know |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | sabríamos | we would know |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | sabríais | you (plural) would know |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | sabrían | they would know, you (plural formal) would know |
Saber in the Indicative Present Perfect
The Indicative Present Perfect of saber is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, "he sabido español", meaning "I have known Spanish".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he sabido | I have known |
| Tú | has sabido | you have known |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha sabido | s/he has known, you (formal) have known |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos sabido | we have known |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis sabido | you (plural) have known |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han sabido | they have known, you (plural formal) have known |
Saber in the Indicative Past Perfect
The Indicative Past Perfect of saber is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, "había sabido español", meaning "I had known Spanish".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había sabido | I had known |
| Tú | habías sabido | you had known |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había sabido | s/he had known, you (formal) had known |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos sabido | we had known |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais sabido | you (plural) had known |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían sabido | they had known, you (plural formal) had known |
Saber in the Indicative Future Perfect
The Indicative Future Perfect of saber is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, "habré sabido español", meaning "I will have known Spanish".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré sabido | I will have known |
| Tú | habrás sabido | you will have known |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá sabido | s/he will have known, you (formal) will have known |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos sabido | we will have known |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis sabido | you (plural) will have known |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán sabido | they will have known, you (plural formal) will have known |
Saber in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of saber is used to talk about something that would have happened in the future but didn’t due to another action. For example, "habría sabido español", meaning "I would have known Spanish".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría sabido | I would have known |
| Tú | habrías sabido | you would have known |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría sabido | s/he would have known, you (formal) would have known |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos sabido | we would have known |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais sabido | you (plural) would have known |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían sabido | they would have known, you (plural formal) would have known |
Want a better way to learn conjugations?
Ella Verbs guides you through 30 levels of bite sized lessons and verb drills, helping you to master the 16 main Spanish tenses from our verb library of over 1,000 verbs.
Subjunctive Tenses of Saber
Saber in the Subjunctive Present
The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, "sepa", meaning "I know".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | sepa | I know |
| Tú | sepas | you know |
| Ella / Él / Usted | sepa | s/he know, you (formal) know |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | sepamos | we know |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | sepáis | you (plural) know |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | sepan | they know, you (plural formal) know |
Saber in the Subjunctive Imperfect
The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, "supiera", meaning "I knew".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | supiera | I knew |
| Tú | supieras | you knew |
| Ella / Él / Usted | supiera | s/he knew, you (formal) knew |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | supiéramos | we knew |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | supierais | you (plural) knew |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | supieran | they knew, you (plural formal) knew |
Saber in the Subjunctive Future
The Subjunctive Future is used For example, "supiere", meaning "I will know".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | supiere | I will know |
| Tú | supieres | you will know |
| Ella / Él / Usted | supiere | s/he will know, you (formal) will know |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | supiéremos | we will know |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | supiereis | you (plural) will know |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | supieren | they will know, you (plural formal) will know |
Saber in the Subjunctive Present Perfect
The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, "haya sabido", meaning "I have known".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya sabido | I have known |
| Tú | hayas sabido | you have known |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya sabido | s/he has known, you (formal) have known |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos sabido | we have known |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis sabido | you (plural) have known |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan sabido | they have known, you (plural formal) have known |
Saber in the Subjunctive Past Perfect
The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, "hubiera sabido", meaning "I had known".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera sabido | I had known |
| Tú | hubieras sabido | you had known |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera sabido | s/he had known, you (formal) had known |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos sabido | we had known |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais sabido | you (plural) had known |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran sabido | they had known, you (plural formal) had known |
Saber in the Subjunctive Future Perfect
The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used For example, "hubiere sabido", meaning "I will have known".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere sabido | I will have known |
| Tú | hubieres sabido | you will have known |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere sabido | s/he will have known, you (formal) will have known |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos sabido | we will have known |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis sabido | you (plural) will have known |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren sabido | they will have known, you (plural formal) will have known |
Imperative Tenses of Saber
Saber in the Imperative Affirmative
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, "sepa", meaning "(to you formal) know!".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | sabe | (to you) know! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | sepa | (to you formal) know! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | sepamos | (to we) know! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | sabed | (to you plural) know! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | sepan | (to you plural formal) know! |
Saber in the Imperative Negative
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, "no sepa", meaning "(to you formal) don't know!".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no sepas | (to you) don't know! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no sepa | (to you formal) don't know! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no sepamos | (to we) don't know! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no sepáis | (to you plural) don't know! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no sepan | (to you plural formal) don't know! |
Example sentences and usage
- Simplemente no sé qué decir... I just don't know what to say.
- No sabía de dónde venía eso. I didn't know where it came from.
- ¡¿Cómo que no sabes?! What do you mean you don't know?!
- ¡No te preocupes, sé feliz! Don't worry, be happy!
- Yo sabía que hoy sería divertido. I knew that today would be fun.
- ¿De casualidad sabes dónde dejé mis llaves? Any chance you know where I put my keys?
- Ni siquiera saben por qué. They don't even know why.
- ¿Sabes montar a caballo? Can you ride a horse?
Want to explore other verb conjugations?
Why not check out oír – to hear or see the complete list of verbs here.
Back to topWant a better way to learn conjugations?
Ella Verbs guides you through 30 levels of bite sized lessons and verb drills, helping you to master the 16 main Spanish tenses from our verb library of over 1,000 verbs.
