Present
| sé | |
| sabes | |
| sabés | |
| sabe | |
| sabemos | |
| sabéis | |
| saben |
- Yo form sé: sé
Spanish -er verb
Saber conjugation: sé, supe, sepa
saber: to know (a fact or skill)
Most of the present of saber is regular, but its yo form is sé, its preterite uses sup-, its future drops a vowel (sabré) and its subjunctive is sepa, which is not built from the yo form.
At a glance
Where saber breaks the pattern
Saber is irregular in the present, preterite, future, conditional and present subjunctive.
Yo form sé
sé · Present
Strong preterite stem sup-
supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron · Preterite
Future stem sabr-
sabré, sabrás, sabrá, sabremos, sabréis, sabrán, sabría, sabrías, sabríamos, sabríais, sabrían · Future, Conditional
Subjunctive stem sep-, not built from the yo form
sepa, sepas, sepamos, sepáis, sepan · Present Subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive (-ra), imperfect subjunctive (-se), future subjunctive, affirmative imperative and negative imperative are built from those forms, so they have nothing new to learn.
Quick facts
- sabido · regular
- sabiendo · regular
- Only three affirmative commands have their own forms: tú sabe, vos sabé and vosotros sabed. Every other command, and every negative one, is the present subjunctive: sepa, sepamos, sepan; no sepas.
Focused practice
Practise saber now
Type the forms from memory, irregular ones first.
Conjugation tables for saber
Marked letters break the regular -er pattern. Vosotros: Spain. Vos: voseo regions such as Argentina.
Indicative
Preterite
| supe | |
| supiste | |
| supiste | |
| supo | |
| supimos | |
| supisteis | |
| supieron |
- Strong preterite stem sup-: supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron
Imperfect
| sabía | |
| sabías | |
| sabías | |
| sabía | |
| sabíamos | |
| sabíais | |
| sabían |
Future
| sabré | |
| sabrás | |
| sabrás | |
| sabrá | |
| sabremos | |
| sabréis | |
| sabrán |
- Future stem sabr-: sabré, sabrás, sabrá, sabremos, sabréis, sabrán
Present Perfect
| he sabido | |
| has sabido | |
| has sabido | |
| ha sabido | |
| hemos sabido | |
| habéis sabido | |
| han sabido |
- haber + sabido
Past Perfect
| había sabido | |
| habías sabido | |
| habías sabido | |
| había sabido | |
| habíamos sabido | |
| habíais sabido | |
| habían sabido |
- haber + sabido
Future Perfect
| habré sabido | |
| habrás sabido | |
| habrás sabido | |
| habrá sabido | |
| habremos sabido | |
| habréis sabido | |
| habrán sabido |
- haber + sabido
Conditional
Conditional
| sabría | |
| sabrías | |
| sabrías | |
| sabría | |
| sabríamos | |
| sabríais | |
| sabrían |
- Future stem sabr-: sabría, sabrías, sabría, sabríamos, sabríais, sabrían
Conditional Perfect
| habría sabido | |
| habrías sabido | |
| habrías sabido | |
| habría sabido | |
| habríamos sabido | |
| habríais sabido | |
| habrían sabido |
- haber + sabido
Subjunctive
Present Subjunctive
| sepa | |
| sepas | |
| sepas | |
| sepa | |
| sepamos | |
| sepáis | |
| sepan |
- Subjunctive stem sep-, not built from the yo form: sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepáis, sepan
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)
| supiera | |
| supieras | |
| supieras | |
| supiera | |
| supiéramos | |
| supierais | |
| supieran |
- Built on the preterite ellos form supieron
Imperfect Subjunctive (-se)
| supiese | |
| supieses | |
| supieses | |
| supiese | |
| supiésemos | |
| supieseis | |
| supiesen |
- Built on the preterite ellos form supieron
Future Subjunctive
| supiere | |
| supieres | |
| supieres | |
| supiere | |
| supiéremos | |
| supiereis | |
| supieren |
- Built on the preterite ellos form supieron
Present Perfect Subjunctive
| haya sabido | |
| hayas sabido | |
| hayas sabido | |
| haya sabido | |
| hayamos sabido | |
| hayáis sabido | |
| hayan sabido |
- haber + sabido
Past Perfect Subjunctive
| hubiera sabido | |
| hubieras sabido | |
| hubieras sabido | |
| hubiera sabido | |
| hubiéramos sabido | |
| hubierais sabido | |
| hubieran sabido |
- haber + sabido
Future Perfect Subjunctive
| hubiere sabido | |
| hubieres sabido | |
| hubieres sabido | |
| hubiere sabido | |
| hubiéremos sabido | |
| hubiereis sabido | |
| hubieren sabido |
- haber + sabido
Imperative
Affirmative Imperative
| sabe | |
| sabé | |
| sepa | |
| sepamos | |
| sabed | |
| sepan |
- Built on the present subjunctive
Negative Imperative
| no sepas | |
| no sepas | |
| no sepa | |
| no sepamos | |
| no sepáis | |
| no sepan |
- Built on the present subjunctive
Usage
Saber, conocer and supe
Saber is to know facts and how to do things: sé su número, no sé si viene, sabe tocar el piano. Conocer is to know a person, place or work through familiarity: conozco a su hermana, conocemos Lima.
For skills, saber + infinitive replaces English “can”: ¿sabes conducir? (can you drive?). ¿Puedes conducir? asks whether you’re able to right now.
In the preterite, saber usually means “found out”: supe la noticia ayer (I heard the news yesterday). For knowing something over a period of time, use the imperfect: ya lo sabía.
Saber a means to taste of: sabe a limón. Que yo sepa means “as far as I know”: que yo sepa, no ha llamado. And sé with an accent is the verb; se without one is the pronoun.
Easy to confuse
- sé is the present yo of saber, but also the tú command of ser.
Check yourself
Try before revealing
Yo ___. (saber · present)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
Try before revealing
Yo ___. (saber · preterite)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
Try before revealing
Yo ___. (saber · future)
Say or form the answer before you check it.
Try before revealing
Yo ___. (saber · present subjunctive)
Say or form the answer before you check it.