Grammar guide The rule
Saber vs conocer: which “to know” to use
English has one verb “to know”; Spanish has two. Saber is knowing information and how to do things; conocer is being familiar with people, places and things.
How to choose
Ask whether you know a fact or know a person, a place or a thing.
- Saber
- Facts and information Answers, names, dates, and anything after “know that”, “know if” or “know where”. Sé la respuesta. · No sé dónde vive.
- Saber + infinitive
- Skills Knowing how to do something is saber plus an infinitive, with no word for “how”. Sé nadar. · ¿Sabes cocinar?
- Conocer
- People, places, works Being acquainted with someone, having been somewhere, knowing a book or a song. A person takes the personal a. Conozco a tu hermano. · ¿Conoces Madrid?
- Yo forms
- sé and conozco Both verbs are irregular only in the first person of the present. sé, sabes, sabe · conozco, conoces, conoce
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Grammar topics explained
- Ser vs estar: when to use each in Spanish
- Preterite vs imperfect: when to use each in Spanish
- Por vs para: how to choose in Spanish
- Spanish subjunctive: when to use it
- Spanish direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)
- Spanish accent marks: when to write them
- Stem-changing verbs in Spanish (e→ie, o→ue, e→i)
- Irregular preterite verbs in Spanish