The Spanish verb saber lives a double life. In some sentences, it is a brainy verb meaning "to know." It can also mean "to find out," "hear," or "learn" something.
In other cases, though, saber has little to do with learning, and more to do with eating, as it can also mean "to taste" (as in to have a certain taste).
Conjugations
Saber is an irregular verb, so much so that you might not even recognize it in some of its irregular conjugations. Luckily, saber doesn't live a double life when it comes to its conjugation so, no matter what meaning you want it to convey, you can conjugate it with the help of the following tables.
Present
|
Yo |
sé |
Nosotros/Nosotras |
sabemos |
|
Tú (Vos) |
sabes (sabés) |
Vosotros/Vosotras |
sabéis |
|
Él/Ella/Usted |
sabe |
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes |
saben |
Examples:
- Sé que esto es importante para ti. - I know this is important for you.
- Este té sabe a canela. - This tea tastes like cinnamon
Imperfect
|
Yo |
sabía |
Nosotros/Nosotras |
sabíamos |
|
Tú/Vos |
sabías |
Vosotros/Vosotras |
sabíais |
|
Él/Ella/Usted |
sabía |
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes |
sabían |
Examples:
- No sabía que Lucila era tu hermana. - I didn't know Lucila was your sister.
- Antes estos caramelos sabían mejor. - This candy used to taste better.
Preterite
|
Yo |
supe |
Nosotros/Nosotras |
supimos |
|
Tú/Vos |
supiste |
Vosotros/Vosotras |
supisteis |
|
Él/Ella/Usted |
supo |
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes |
supieron |
Examples:
- ¿Cuándo supisteis qué queríais estudiar? - When did you know what you wanted to study?
- En mi opinión, este vino nunca supo bien. - In my opinion, this wine never tasted good.
Future
|
Yo |
sabré |
Nosotros/Nosotras |
sabremos |
|
Tú/Vos |
sabrás |
Vosotros/Vosotras |
sabréis |
|
Él/Ella/Usted |
sabrá |
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes |
sabrán |
Examples:
- Nunca sabremos quién hizo esto. - We will never know who did this.
- Algún día sabrás por qué lo hice. - Some day you will know why I did it.
Conditional
|
Yo |
sabría |
Nosotros/Nosotras |
sabríamos |
|
Tú/Vos |
sabrías |
Vosotros/Vosotras |
sabríais |
|
Él/Ella/Usted |
sabría |
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes |
sabrían |
Examples:
- Si te fueras, no sabría qué decirte. - If you left, I wouldn't know what to say.
- La masa sabría mejor si tuviera más sal. - The dough would taste better if it had more salt.
Saber can be a hard verb to conjugate, and its dual meaning might seem confusing, but practice its use and you will soon find yourself using it without even thinking about it!