Saber Conjugation: Free Spanish Lesson, Exercises, and PDF
To know the meaning of Spanish verbs is an important part of the process of learning Spanish. Knowing how to conjugate these verbs is also essential.
To know that the English verb “to know” means both saber and conocer in Spanish will prove useful in conversations.
We use the verb “know” a lot in English without even noticing, and in Spanish it’s pretty much the same thing.
Keep reading to learn the differences between saber and conocer, access the saber conjugation set, and try some exercises to practice your new skills.
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The Spanish Verb Saber
People are always learning new information. For instance, we go to school because there are important things we need to know. We also need to know about the news, or perhaps we want to get to know a person better.
As you can see, in English, “to know” is an important verb. However, in Spanish this verb is translated as two different verbs: saber and conocer. They both mean “to know,” but we use them in different contexts.
Saber is the verb you have to use when talking about facts, information, or how to do something. Conocer, on the other hand, is the verb we use when talking about knowing people, places, or things.
A good tip about when to use these two verbs is to ask yourself if you can replace the verb “to know” in English for the verb “to meet.” If so, you should probably use conocer instead of saber.
Saber: An Irregular Verb
Saber is an irregular verb, which means that it doesn’t follow the most common pattern of conjugations in Spanish. The saber conjugations follow a unique and specific pattern.
This verb is irregular in the first person of present indicative, in the preterite, the future, conditional, and the present tense of the subjunctive mood.
Saber Conjugation
As every set of irregular verb conjugations, the saber conjugations have their own peculiarities. Going from prefix sab- to prefixes sup- and sep- are big changes that can be hard to master at first.
However, this is a two-tier process. Memorizing the conjugations is the first step, and practicing them in real conversations will help you get a natural feeling even for the strangest conjugations of saber.
Saber Verbals
Infinitive, gerund, and participle are the three verbals of the Spanish language. Remember that verbals are never conjugated and that they always need another conjugated verb in order to be used in a sentence.
| Saber Verbals | ||
| Verbal | Example | |
| Infinitive | saber (to know) | Me gustaría saber para qué sirve. – I’d like to know what’s this for. |
| Gerund | sabiendo (knowing) | No puedes hacer eso sabiendo que es un error. – You can’t do that knowing it is a mistake. |
| Participle | sabido (known) | De haberlo sabido antes, no lo habría hecho. – If I’d known before, I wouldn’t have done it. |
Saber Conjugation: Indicative Mood
Let’s see now the indicative mood of the saber conjugation set, dividing them in simple tenses and compound tenses. Remember that compound tenses include the auxiliary verb haber (to have).
Saber Conjugation: Simple Tenses of the Indicative Mood
| Subject | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Conditional | Future |
| (know) | (knew) | (knew) | (would knew) | (will know) | |
| yo | sé | supe | sabía | sabría | sabré |
| tú | sabes | supiste | sabías | sabrías | sabrás |
| él/ella | sabe | supo | sabía | sabría | sabrá |
| nosotros | sabemos | supimos | sabíamos | sabríamos | sabremos |
| ustedes | saben | supieron | sabían | sabrían | sabrán |
| ellos/ellas | saben | supieron | sabían | sabrían | sabrán |
Saber Conjugation: Compound Tenses of the Indicative Mood
| Subject | Present Perfect | Preterite Perfect | Past Perfect (Pluperfect) | Conditional Perfect | Future Perfect |
| (have/has known) | (had known) | (had known) | (would have known) | (will have known) | |
| yo | he sabido | hube sabido | había sabido | habría sabido | habré sabido |
| tú | has sabido | hubiste sabido | habías sabido | habrías sabido | habrás sabido |
| él/ella | ha sabido | hubo sabido | había sabido | habría sabido | habrá sabido |
| nosotros | hemos sabido | hubimos sabido | habíamos sabido | habríamos sabido | habremos sabido |
| ustedes | han sabido | hubieron sabido | habían sabido | habrían sabido | habrán sabido |
| ellos/ellas | han sabido | hubieron sabido | habían sabido | habrían sabido | habrán sabido |
Saber Conjugation: Subjunctive Mood
Now, let’s study the saber conjugations of the subjunctive mood. Remember that this mood is used to express wishes, hopes, and desires.
Saber Conjugation: Simple Tenses of the Subjunctive Mood
| Subject | Present | Imperfect | Imperfect 2 | Future |
| yo | sepa | supiera | supiese | supiere |
| tú | sepas | supieras | supieses | supieres |
| él/ella | sepa | supiera | supiese | supiere |
| nosotros | sepamos | supiéramos | supiésemos | supiéremos |
| ustedes | sepan | supieran | supiesen | supieren |
| ellos/ellas | sepan | supieran | supiesen | supieren |
Saber Conjugation: Compound Tenses of the Subjunctive Mood
| Subject | Present Perfect | Past Perfect (Pluperfect) | Past Perfect 2 (Pluperfect 2) | Future Perfect |
| yo | haya sabido | hubiera sabido | hubiese sabido | hubiere sabido |
| tú | hayas sabido | hubieras sabido | hubieses sabido | hubieres sabido |
| él/ella | haya sabido | hubiera sabido | hubiese sabido | hubiere sabido |
| nosotros | hayamos sabido | hubiéramos sabido | hubiésemos sabido | hubiéremos sabido |
| ustedes | hayan sabido | hubieran sabido | hubiesen sabido | hubieren sabido |
| ellos/ellas | hayan sabido | hubieran sabido | hubiesen sabido | hubieren sabido |
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Saber Conjugation: Imperative Mood
The imperative mood in Spanish is used to give orders or commands, which can be affirmative or negative. This mood has fewer subjects to conjugate, due to the obvious reason that you cannot give an order to yourself or to a third person.
Saber Conjugation: Imperative Mood
| Subject | Affirmative | Negative |
| (know / let’s know) | (don’t know / let’s not know) | |
| tú | sabe | no sepas |
| nosotros | sepamos | no sepamos |
| ustedes | sepan | no sepan |
Saber Conjugation: Exercises
Fill in the blank using the right conjugation of saber:
- ¡ ________________ que vendrías! – I knew you’d come!.
- Mañana ________________ quién ganó las elecciones. – Tomorrow we’ll know who won the election.
- Si _______________ español, esto no habría pasado. – If you knew Spanish, this wouldn’t have happened.
- Lo _____________ desde el principio. – I’ve known it from the beginning.
- Juan ________________ que está equivocado. – Juan knows he’s wrong.
- Pensé que tú ________________ . – I thought you would know.
- Si nos hubieras llamado, lo ________________ desde antes. – If you had called, we would have known it way before.
- Ellos _______________ que los están buscando. – They know that you are looking for them.
- La próxima semana ________________ si conseguí el empleo. – Next week I’ll know if I’ve got the job.
- _____________ que lo harás muy bien. – I know you’ll do it very well.
Now that you’ve learned everything you need to know about the saber conjugation, download this PDF and keep studying and practicing at home!
Click here to see the answer key!
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Answer Key
- Sabía
- sabremos
- supieras
- he sabido
- sabe
- sabrías
- habríamos sabido
- saben
- sabré
- Sé
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