Saber means to know (facts, how to). Learn five tenses, then practise each person.
Present:sé, sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabéis, saben.
Step 1 of 5
Saber in the present tense
Use the present for current states, habits and actions. The subject can be omitted when the verb makes it clear.
Vosotros is informal plural you in Spain. Ustedes uses the ellos/ellas form and is the usual plural you in Latin America.
Saber is to know a fact or how to do something: sé nadar, I can swim. To know a person or a place is conocer.
séI know (present)
sabesyou know (present)
sabehe/she knows (present)
sabemoswe know (present)
sabéisyou all (vosotros) know (present)
sabenthey know (present)
Saber in the preterite tense
Use the preterite for a completed event in the past, viewed as a whole.
supeI found out (preterite)
supisteyou found out (preterite)
supohe/she found out (preterite)
supimoswe found out (preterite)
supisteisyou all (vosotros) found out (preterite)
supieronthey found out (preterite)
Saber in the imperfect tense
Use the imperfect for past habits, ongoing situations and background descriptions, without marking their endpoint.
sabíaI knew (imperfect)
sabíasyou knew (imperfect)
sabíahe/she knew (imperfect)
sabíamoswe knew (imperfect)
sabíaisyou all (vosotros) knew (imperfect)
sabíanthey knew (imperfect)
Saber in the future tense
Use the simple future for what will happen. Spanish also uses this tense for a guess about the present.
sabréI will know (future)
sabrásyou will know (future)
sabráhe/she will know (future)
sabremoswe will know (future)
sabréisyou all (vosotros) will know (future)
sabránthey will know (future)
Saber in the conditional tense
Use the conditional for what would happen, a polite request or a hypothetical situation.
sabríaI would know (conditional)
sabríasyou would know (conditional)
sabríahe/she would know (conditional)
sabríamoswe would know (conditional)
sabríaisyou all (vosotros) would know (conditional)
sabríanthey would know (conditional)
learnt
0
mastered
0
learning
0
struggling
0
due for review
0
Learning Learnt Mastered Struggling
Pick a word to hear it and see when it's due next.
0 / 30 learnt
Saber conjugation chart
All six persons. Blue, bold forms differ from regular endings, including spelling changes that preserve pronunciation.
Person
Present
Preterite
Imperfect
Future
Conditional
yo
sé
supe
sabía
sabré
sabría
tú
sabes
supiste
sabías
sabrás
sabrías
él / ella / usted
sabe
supo
sabía
sabrá
sabría
nosotros / nosotras
sabemos
supimos
sabíamos
sabremos
sabríamos
vosotros / vosotras
sabéis
supisteis
sabíais
sabréis
sabríais
ellos / ellas / ustedes
saben
supieron
sabían
sabrán
sabrían
Saber in the present tense
Person
Spanish
English
yo
sé
I know
tú
sabes
you know
él / ella / usted
sabe
he/she knows
nosotros / nosotras
sabemos
we know
vosotros / vosotras
sabéis
you all (vosotros) know
ellos / ellas / ustedes
saben
they know
Saber in the preterite tense
Person
Spanish
English
yo
supe
I found out
tú
supiste
you found out
él / ella / usted
supo
he/she found out
nosotros / nosotras
supimos
we found out
vosotros / vosotras
supisteis
you all (vosotros) found out
ellos / ellas / ustedes
supieron
they found out
Saber in the imperfect tense
Person
Spanish
English
yo
sabía
I knew
tú
sabías
you knew
él / ella / usted
sabía
he/she knew
nosotros / nosotras
sabíamos
we knew
vosotros / vosotras
sabíais
you all (vosotros) knew
ellos / ellas / ustedes
sabían
they knew
Saber in the future tense
Person
Spanish
English
yo
sabré
I will know
tú
sabrás
you will know
él / ella / usted
sabrá
he/she will know
nosotros / nosotras
sabremos
we will know
vosotros / vosotras
sabréis
you all (vosotros) will know
ellos / ellas / ustedes
sabrán
they will know
Saber in the conditional tense
Person
Spanish
English
yo
sabría
I would know
tú
sabrías
you would know
él / ella / usted
sabría
he/she would know
nosotros / nosotras
sabríamos
we would know
vosotros / vosotras
sabríais
you all (vosotros) would know
ellos / ellas / ustedes
sabrían
they would know
Is saber irregular?
Saber differs from the regular endings in the present, preterite, future, conditional. Changed forms include present: sé; preterite: supe, supiste, supo; future: sabré, sabrás, sabrá; conditional: sabría, sabrías, sabría. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
Questions about saber
How do you conjugate saber in the present?
The present forms are sé, sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabéis, saben, in the order yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes.
What is the preterite of saber?
supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron. For example, supe means “I found out”.
Is saber irregular?
Saber differs from the regular endings in the present, preterite, future, conditional. Changed forms include present: sé; preterite: supe, supiste, supo; future: sabré, sabrás, sabrá; conditional: sabría, sabrías, sabría. Highlighted forms include spelling changes that preserve pronunciation as well as irregular stems and endings.
What is the difference between the preterite and imperfect of saber?
The preterite (supe) presents a completed event; the imperfect (sabía) gives a past habit or background situation. The English glosses are “I found out” and “I knew”, but context determines the best translation.
What are the future and conditional of saber?
The yo forms are sabré (“I will know”) and sabría (“I would know”). The full charts above include every person.
What does saber mean?
Saber means to know (facts, how to). Saber is to know a fact or how to do something: sé nadar, I can swim. To know a person or a place is conocer.