Saber Conjugation: Master Every Tense Guide 📘

Have you reached irregular verbs and can’t wrap your mind around saber conjunctions? We have compiled all saber conjunctions in one place for you with real-life examples to help you understand the usage of this word better. 

Sabemos mucho de gramática - and you will know it soon, too!

When to Use Saber

Saber literally means “to know (things),” and it usually refers to having knowledge about some facts or information. 

Conocer is another Spanish word with the same meaning, but it is used in different situations (when knowing a person or a place), so it shouldn’t be confused or used interchangeably. 

Here is an example for you:

What Are Saber Conjugations?

Saber is an irregular Spanish verb, so the way it changes in tenses will be different from regular verbs. Unfortunately for Spanish learners, saber, along with other irregular verbs, follows a unique pattern that can only be memorized.  

Infinitive, Gerund, and Participle of Saber

There is no conjugation of saber when it comes to verbals like infinitive, gerund, and participle. It is usually another verb that is changed in the sentences, as in these examples:

Indicative Tenses of Saber with Examples

An indicative mood is used when stating facts or describing the qualities of a person or situation in the present, past, and future, or conditional. 

Saber Indicative in Simple Tenses

Here is a saber conjugation chart in the indicative mood in all tenses:

Saber Indicative Present Conjugation

Saber present tense is used to talk about things that happen now or in the near future. The Indicative Present is usually used when talking about general facts and truths. 

The examples of saber in the present tense would be:

• Sé español. - I know Spanish.

• Sabe tocar la guitarra. - He knows how to play the guitar. 

• Saben cocinar. - They know how to cook. 

Saber Preterite Conjugation

Just like Past Simple in English, Indicative Preterite is used to talk about action done in the past with a specific indication of time.

The examples of saber in Preterite would be:

• Tú supiste enfrentarte a los problemas. - You knew how to deal with problems.

• ¿Cómo supieron ustedes dónde estábamos? - How did you know where we were? 

• Siempre supe que quería ser profesora. - I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. 

Saber Indicative Imperfect Conjugation

Saber conjugations in Indicative Imperfect are used when describing actions that used to happen in the past. 

Here are perfect examples of how you can use saber in this El Pretérito Imperfecto:

• Yo sabía francés en la escuela. - I used to know French at school.

• Sabía mucho de conducir. - You knew a lot about baking.

• No sabía nada de compras. - He knew nothing about shopping. 

Saber Indicative Future Conjugation

Indicative Future is the test used to describe an action that will take place in the future. Here is how you can use saber in this tense: 

To understand the usage of saber in El Futuro Simple, have a look at our examples:

• Sabré conducir. - I will know how to drive.

• Sabrán construir casas. - They will know how to build houses.

• Nosotros sabremos decorar su habitación. - We will know how to decorate her room. 

Saber Indicative Conditional Conjugation

The Indicative Conditional tense is the one you use when you want to make suggestions or hypothesize.  

Let’s see how you can use saber in El Condicional Simple: 

• Sabría de este evento si hubiera recibido una invitación. - I would know about this event if I had received an invitation.

• Sabría del mal tiempo si lo hubiera comprobado. - She would know about bad weather if she had checked it.

• Sabríamos de la promoción si no estuviéramos de vacaciones. - We would know about promotion if we weren't on holiday.

Saber Indicative in Compound Tenses

Once you have practiced saber conjunctions in simple tenses, you can proceed to learn compound tenses. As a matter of fact, compound tenses in the Indicative voice are used with the verb haber (to have).

Compared to simple tenses, using saber in compound tense is very easy since you only need to conjugate the auxiliary verb. 

Here is a saber conjugation chart of compound tenses: 

Haber is not only used with saber but also with other verbs, so this is your change to remember the conjuctions by heart and make your learning experience easier in the future. 

Here are some examples of how you can use saber in compound tenses: 

• Ha sabido conducir durante muchos años. - He has known how to drive for many years. (Present Perfect)

• He sabido como usar esta cámara. - I have known how to use this camera. (Present Perfect)

• El año que viene habremos sabido arreglar coches. - Next year, we will have known how to fix cars. (Future Perfect)

• Habrías sabido hablar inglés si hubieras asistido a clases. - You would have known how to speak English if you had attended classes. (Conditional Perfect)

Subjunctive Tenses of Saber with Examples 

Subjunctive mood is the one used to talk about wishes, hopes, and desires. You can also use this mood to express your doubts and talk about things that you aren’t sure about. 

The set of saber subjunctive conjugations are again divided into simple and compound tenses so that you can easily compare the moods and how the verb saber used in different times. 

Subjunctive Tenses in Simple Tenses

Before we break all tenses down into separate parts, have a look at this saber conjugation chart in Subjunctive mood before moving forward.

You may notice that the translations in English are exactly the same as in Indicative mood – however, the situations where you use these moods vary. 

Saber Subjunctive Present Conjugation

The Subjunctive Present should be used when talk about your wishes and hopes, but also when you don’t have accurate information about the topic of the discussion.

To illustrate when saber can be used in this mood and tense, have a look at these examples:

• Que yo sepa es una buena marca. - As far as I know this is a good brand. 

• Quiere que sepas que te admira mucho. - He wants you to know that he admires you very much!

Saber Subjunctive Imperfect Conjugation

The Imperfect tense in the Subjunctive mood is the one when you talk about unlikely events that happened in the past. Here is how you can use saber in this tense:

Here are the examples to help you understand how to use saber in this tense:

• No quería que supiera el secreto. - She didn't want me to know about the secret.

• Había personas que deseaban darme cosas sin que yo supiera. - There were people who wanted to give me things without me knowing.

Saber Subjunctive Future Conjugation

As the name suggests, the Future is used to talk about situations or events that you hypothesize about in the future.

Subjunctive Tenses in Compound Tenses

Similar to saber conjunctions in the Indicative mood, the Subjuctive mood uses compound tenses where haber is conjugated as an auxiliar verb. 

One thing remain the same, though, the verb saber is used in its participle form - sabido.

Look at these sentences and try to come up with your own:

• Puede que no lo haya sabido hasta hoy. - I may not have known that until today. (Present Perfect)

• Si lo hubieras sabido, podrías habérmelo dicho. - If you had known, you could have told me. (Past Perfect)

• Ojalá hubiera sabido cuántos kilómetros quedan hasta esta ciudad. - I wish I had known how many kilometers left to this city. (Past Perfect)

Imperative Conjunctions of Saber

The Imperative tenses are used to give commands like “go,” “do it,” “eat,” and so on. How can we incorporate saber into these tenses? There are affirmative and negative conjurations, and in Spanish, only three pronouns work with the Imperative mood.

Speaking Latino Made Easy

Spanish may seem challenging at first, but with enough practice, you will notice significant improvements and start creating your first sentences. 

Speaking Latino can aid you in your learning journey. Teachers can find interactive and engaging materials, while Spanish learners can get an insight into exercises that are not available online.