Savoir: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French
Introduction
Savoir means “to know”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for savoir, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Example sentences
Twelve sentences with savoir, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Je sais parler français tous les jours.” — “I know speak French every day.”
- “Tu sais la réponse tous les jours.” — “You know the answer every day.”
- “J'ai su nager depuis longtemps cette semaine.” — “I have known how to swim for a long time this week.”
- “Il savait parler français autrefois.” — “He used to know speak French in the past.”
- “Nous saurons la réponse demain.” — “We will know the answer tomorrow.”
- “Tu as su nager depuis longtemps cette semaine.” — “You have known how to swim for a long time this week.”
- “Je saurais parler français un jour.” — “I would know speak French one day.”
- “Il est important que il sache la réponse.” — “It is important that he know the answer.”
- “Nous avions su nager depuis longtemps avant la fête.” — “We had known how to swim for a long time before the party.”
- “Il saura parler français demain.” — “He will know speak French tomorrow.”
- “Ils savent la réponse tous les jours.” — “They know the answer every day.”
- “Sache nager depuis longtemps !” — “Know how to swim for a long time!”
A short dialogue
Marie and Pierre are talking about speak French. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how savoir changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of savoir below is taken from the verified tables.
Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je sais parler français tous les jours.” — “I know speak French every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je saurai la réponse demain.” — “I will know the answer tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai su nager depuis longtemps cette semaine.” — “I have known how to swim for a long time this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je saurais parler français un jour.” — “I would know speak French one day.”
Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.
Savoir in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of savoir that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, savoir describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is sais: “Je sais parler français tous les jours.” — “I know speak French every day.”
The imperfect: the past as it used to be
In the imperfect, savoir describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is savait: “Il savait la réponse autrefois.” — “He used to know the answer in the past.”
The passé composé: finished actions
In the passé composé, savoir reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle su. The je form is ai su: “J'ai su nager depuis longtemps cette semaine.” — “I have known how to swim for a long time this week.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, savoir talks about what will happen. The nous form is saurons: “Nous saurons parler français demain.” — “We will know speak French tomorrow.”
The conditional: what would happen
In the conditional, savoir talks about what would happen. The tu form is saurais: “Tu saurais la réponse un jour.” — “You would know the answer one day.”
The subjunctive: wishes and doubts
In the subjunctive, savoir appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is sache, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je sache nager depuis longtemps.” — “It is important that I know how to swim for a long time.”
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je savoir parler français.”
✓ Right: “Je sais parler français.”
The infinitive savoir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form sais.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Tu sais parler français.”
✓ Right: “Tu sais parler français.”
sais is the je form. With tu you need sais. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je sais parler français hier.”
✓ Right: “Je ai su parler français hier.”
The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai su, not the present.
Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu sais la réponse.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que tu saches la réponse.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: saches, not the indicative sais.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je su parler français.”
✓ Right: “Je ai su parler français.”
The passé composé of savoir needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle su: the full je form is ai su.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on savoir. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of savoir in the Present indicative?
- A) sais
- B) sait
- C) savons
- D) savez
What is the tu form of savoir in the Present indicative?
- A) sais
- B) sait
- C) savons
- D) savez
What is the il/elle form of savoir in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) ai su
- B) as su
- C) avons su
- D) a su
What is the nous form of savoir in the Imperfect?
- A) saviez
- B) savions
- C) savais
- D) savait
What is the tu form of savoir in the Future?
- A) saurons
- B) sauras
- C) saurai
- D) saura
What is the je form of savoir in the Conditional?
- A) saurais
- B) saurait
- C) saurions
- D) sauriez
What is the il/elle form of savoir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) sache
- B) saches
- C) sachions
- D) sachiez
What is the je form of savoir in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avais su
- B) avait su
- C) avions su
- D) aviez su
What is the gerund of savoir?
- A) en venant
- B) en voyant
- C) en prenant
- D) en sachant
What does savoir mean in English?
- A) to see
- B) to take
- C) to know
- D) to come
Answer key
- A) sais — the je form of savoir in the Present indicative is sais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) sais — the tu form of savoir in the Present indicative is sais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) a su — the il/elle form of savoir in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a su. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) savions — the nous form of savoir in the Imperfect is savions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) sauras — the tu form of savoir in the Future is sauras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) saurais — the je form of savoir in the Conditional is saurais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) sache — the il/elle form of savoir in the Present subjunctive is sache. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) avais su — the je form of savoir in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais su. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) en sachant — the gerund of savoir is en sachant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to know — savoir means “to know” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does savoir mean in English?
savoir means “to know”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is savoir regular or irregular?
savoir is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle. The gerund is sachant and the past participle is su.
How do I practise savoir every day?
Say one sentence with savoir in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je sais parler français tous les jours.”, “J'ai su parler français cette semaine.” and “Je saurai parler français demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for savoir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of savoir — every tense of savoir in one place.
- Savoir in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Savoir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Venir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Voir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Prendre conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise savoir with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise savoir with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise savoir with the interactive tool.