Saber Conjugation in Spanish
saber means “know” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Spanish learners meet — it sits at number 11 in VerbFlow’s frequency list. You use it for knowing facts and information, for knowing how to do something, and for finding out. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of saber — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Yo sé hablar español todos los días.” — “I know speak Spanish every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: saber
- English: to know
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, preterite, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: sabiendo
- Past participle: sabido
- Auxiliary: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + the past participle)
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for saber. Learn the present tense first, then the preterite and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sé |
| tú | sabes |
| él/ella/Ud. | sabe |
| nosotros/as | sabemos |
| vosotros/as | sabéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | saben |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | supe |
| tú | supiste |
| él/ella/Ud. | supo |
| nosotros/as | supimos |
| vosotros/as | supisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | supieron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sabía |
| tú | sabías |
| él/ella/Ud. | sabía |
| nosotros/as | sabíamos |
| vosotros/as | sabíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sabían |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sabré |
| tú | sabrás |
| él/ella/Ud. | sabrá |
| nosotros/as | sabremos |
| vosotros/as | sabréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sabrán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sabría |
| tú | sabrías |
| él/ella/Ud. | sabría |
| nosotros/as | sabríamos |
| vosotros/as | sabríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sabrían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he sabido |
| tú | has sabido |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha sabido |
| nosotros/as | hemos sabido |
| vosotros/as | habéis sabido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han sabido |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había sabido |
| tú | habías sabido |
| él/ella/Ud. | había sabido |
| nosotros/as | habíamos sabido |
| vosotros/as | habíais sabido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían sabido |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré sabido |
| tú | habrás sabido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá sabido |
| nosotros/as | habremos sabido |
| vosotros/as | habréis sabido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán sabido |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría sabido |
| tú | habrías sabido |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría sabido |
| nosotros/as | habríamos sabido |
| vosotros/as | habríais sabido |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían sabido |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sepa |
| tú | sepas |
| él/ella/Ud. | sepa |
| nosotros/as | sepamos |
| vosotros/as | sepáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sepan |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | supiera |
| tú | supieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | supiera |
| nosotros/as | supiéramos |
| vosotros/as | supierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | supieran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | sabe |
| él/ella/Ud. | sepa |
| nosotros/as | sepamos |
| vosotros/as | sabed |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sepan |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | sepas |
| él/ella/Ud. | sepa |
| nosotros/as | sepamos |
| vosotros/as | sepáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sepan |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | sabiendo |
| Past participle | sabido |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With saber this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Yo sé hablar español todos los días.” — “I know speak Spanish every day.”
Preterite
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past. With saber this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tú supiste la respuesta correcta ayer.” — “You knew the right answer yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Él sabía muchas palabras en español antes.” — “He used to know many words in Spanish before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and probability. With saber this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Yo sabré hablar español mañana.” — “I will know speak Spanish tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. With saber this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tú sabrías la respuesta correcta algún día.” — “You would know the right answer someday.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience, formed with haber + the past participle. For example: “Él ha sabido muchas palabras en español esta semana.” — “He has known many words in Spanish this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Yo había sabido hablar español antes de la fiesta.” — “I had known speak Spanish before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tú habrás sabido la respuesta correcta para mañana.” — “You will have known the right answer by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Él habría sabido muchas palabras en español ayer.” — “He would have known many words in Spanish yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With saber this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Es importante que yo sepa hablar español.” — “It is important that i know speak Spanish.”
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
The imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, and clauses after a past-tense trigger. With saber this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ojalá tú supieras la respuesta correcta.” — “I wish you knew the right answer.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With saber this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “¡Sabe muchas palabras en español!” — “Know many words in Spanish!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With saber this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “No sepas hablar español.” — “Do not know speak Spanish.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with saber, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Spanish and try to produce it from the English.
- “Yo sé hablar español todos los días.” — “I know speak Spanish every day.”
- “Tú supiste la respuesta correcta ayer.” — “You knew the right answer yesterday.”
- “Él sabía muchas palabras en español antes.” — “He used to know many words in Spanish before.”
- “Yo sabré la respuesta correcta mañana.” — “I will know the right answer tomorrow.”
- “Tú sabrías hablar español algún día.” — “You would know speak Spanish someday.”
- “Él ha sabido muchas palabras en español esta semana.” — “He has known many words in Spanish this week.”
- “Yo había sabido hablar español antes de la fiesta.” — “I had known speak Spanish before the party.”
- “Tú habrás sabido la respuesta correcta para mañana.” — “You will have known the right answer by tomorrow.”
- “Es importante que él sepa muchas palabras en español.” — “It is important that he know many words in Spanish.”
- “¡Sabe hablar español!” — “Know speak Spanish!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Yo saber hablar español.”
✓ Right: “Yo sé hablar español.”
The infinitive saber never takes a subject. After yo you need the conjugated present form sé.
2. Confusing saber with conocer
✗ Wrong: “Yo conozco hablar español.”
✓ Right: “Yo sé hablar español.”
Saber is to know facts; conocer is to know people and places.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary in perfect tenses
✗ Wrong: “Yo soy sabido hablar español.”
✓ Right: “Yo he sabido hablar español.”
Spanish perfect tenses are always built with haber, never with ser. The correct form is he + the participle sabido.
4. Dropping the written accent
✗ Wrong: “sabre”
✓ Right: “sabré”
The accent on sabré is part of the spelling in the future. Without it the form looks like a different word, so always write the accent.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Ojalá tú sabes hablar español.”
✓ Right: “Ojalá tú sepas hablar español.”
After ojalá Spanish needs the subjunctive, so use sepas here, not the indicative sabes.
6. Using the preterite for a habitual past action
✗ Wrong: “Yo supe hablar español antes.” (said of a repeated habit)
✓ Right: “Yo sabía hablar español antes.”
The preterite supe describes one finished action. For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect sabía.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on saber. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the yo form of saber in the Present indicative?
- A) sabes
- B) sabe
- C) sabemos
- D) sé
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of saber in the Preterite?
- A) supiste
- B) supimos
- C) supo
- D) supe
What is the nosotros/as form of saber in the Imperfect?
- A) sabíais
- B) sabíamos
- C) sabía
- D) sabías
What is the tú form of saber in the Future?
- A) sabrás
- B) sabré
- C) sabrá
- D) sabremos
What is the yo form of saber in the Conditional?
- A) sabrías
- B) sabríamos
- C) sabríais
- D) sabría
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of saber in the Present subjunctive?
- A) sepamos
- B) sepáis
- C) sepa
- D) sepas
What is the yo form of saber in the Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- A) supierais
- B) supiera
- C) supieras
- D) supiéramos
What is the gerund of saber?
- A) sabiendo
- B) dando
- C) queriendo
- D) llegando
What is the past participle of saber?
- A) dado
- B) querido
- C) llegado
- D) sabido
What does saber mean in English?
- A) to want
- B) to arrive
- C) to know
- D) to give
Answer key
- D) sé — the yo form of saber in the present indicative is sé. The other options (sabes, sabe, sabemos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) supo — the él/ella/Ud. form of saber in the preterite is supo. The other options (supe, supiste, supimos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) sabíamos — the nosotros/as form of saber in the imperfect is sabíamos. The other options (sabía, sabías, sabía) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) sabrás — the tú form of saber in the future is sabrás. The other options (sabré, sabrá, sabremos) are the same tense for different persons.
- D) sabría — the yo form of saber in the conditional is sabría. The other options (sabrías, sabría, sabríamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) sepa — the él/ella/Ud. form of saber in the present subjunctive is sepa. The other options (sepa, sepas, sepamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) supiera — the yo form of saber in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is supiera. The other options (supieras, supiera, supiéramos) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) sabiendo — the gerund of saber is sabiendo; it is used with estar for the progressive. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- D) sabido — the past participle of saber is sabido; perfect tenses use haber + sabido. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to know — saber means “to know” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does saber mean in English?
saber means “to know”. You use it for knowing facts and information, for knowing how to do something, and for finding out. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is saber regular or irregular?
saber is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is sabiendo and the past participle is sabido.
What are the gerund and past participle of saber?
The gerund is sabiendo — use it with estar for actions in progress. The past participle is sabido — use it with haber for the perfect tenses, as in he sabido (I have known).
What is the difference between saber and conocer?
Saber is to know facts; conocer is to know people and places. If you are unsure, check the full table for conocer and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I know” in Spanish?
Say “Yo sé hablar español.” — “I know speak Spanish every day.” The yo form of the present is sé, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- saber in the preterite tense — the full table and uses for this verb in its most practised tense.
- saber examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Spanish irregular verbs — every common irregular Spanish verb, grouped by pattern.
- Dar conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Querer conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Llegar conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular verbs.
- Preterite tense guide — how the preterite works, and when to choose it over the imperfect.
- Verb Conjugator — practise saber with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise saber with the interactive tool.
- Preterite Vs Imperfect — practise saber with the interactive tool.