Saber Conjugation | How to Conjugate Saber in Spanish

Saber means “to know,” “to know how,” or “to have information.” You will learn its sé, supe, sabré, sepa, supiera, and supiere families, plus usage-sensitive progressive and commands.

Saber conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Saber combines sé in the first-person present, the preterite stem sup-, future/conditional stem sabr-, present subjunctive sep-, and past/future subjunctive supier-.

Saber gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — in compound forms. The participle sabido remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	saber	to know
Gerund	sabiendo	knowing
Past participle	sabido	known

Saber meaning and essential uses

Saber means having knowledge or information: Sé la respuesta. — “I know the answer.” A clause can follow with que: Sé que está aquí. — “I know that he / she is here.”

It also means knowing how to perform an action: Sé nadar. — “I know how to swim.” With food or other things, saber a + noun means “to taste like”: La sopa sabe a ajo. — “The soup tastes like garlic.” In the preterite, supe often means “I found out / learned.”

Saber irregular conjugation patterns

The present is sé, sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabéis, saben. The preterite uses sup-: supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron.

Future and conditional use sabr-: sabré / sabría. Present subjunctive uses sep-: sepa, sepas, sepamos, sepáis, sepan. Imperfect/future subjunctive use supier-.

Saber indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Saber present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. The first-person singular is the irregular sé; the remaining forms use sab-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	sé	I know
Tú — you, singular informal	sabes	you know
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	sabe	he / she knows; you know (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	sabemos	we know
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	sabéis	you know (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	saben	they know; you know (plural)

• Sé la respuesta. — I know the answer.

Saber preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The preterite uses sup-. In many contexts, supe naturally means “I found out / learned.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	supe	I found out / knew
Tú — you, singular informal	supiste	you found out / knew
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	supo	he / she found out / knew; you found out / knew (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	supimos	we found out / knew
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	supisteis	you found out / knew (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	supieron	they found out / knew; you found out / knew (plural)

• Ayer supe la verdad. — Yesterday I found out the truth.

Saber imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle sabido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	sabía	I used to know / was knowing
Tú — you, singular informal	sabías	you used to know / were knowing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	sabía	he / she used to know / was knowing; you used to know / were knowing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	sabíamos	we used to know / were knowing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	sabíais	you used to know / were knowing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	sabían	they used to know / were knowing; you used to know / were knowing (plural)

• Antes sabía todos los nombres. — I used to know all the names.

Saber present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Usage note: estar + sabiendo is grammatically possible in marked, dynamic contexts, but ordinary possession of knowledge normally uses simple saber rather than the progressive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy sabiendo	I am knowing
Tú — you, singular informal	estás sabiendo	you are knowing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está sabiendo	he / she is knowing; you are knowing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos sabiendo	we are knowing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis sabiendo	you are knowing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están sabiendo	they are knowing; you are knowing (plural)

• Estoy sabiendo más sobre el tema a medida que avanzo. — I am gradually coming to know more about the topic. (marked progressive)

Saber near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. Form it with present ir — “to go” — plus a — “to” — and saber.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a saber	I am going to know
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a saber	you are going to know
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a saber	he / she is going to know; you are going to know (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a saber	we are going to know
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a saber	you are going to know (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a saber	they are going to know; you are going to know (plural)

• Voy a saber el resultado mañana. — I am going to know the result tomorrow.

Saber future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The future uses the irregular stem sabr-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	sabré	I will know
Tú — you, singular informal	sabrás	you will know
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	sabrá	he / she will know; you will know (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	sabremos	we will know
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	sabréis	you will know (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	sabrán	they will know; you will know (plural)

• Sabré la respuesta después de la reunión. — I will know the answer after the meeting.

Saber conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The conditional uses the irregular stem sabr-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	sabría	I would know
Tú — you, singular informal	sabrías	you would know
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	sabría	he / she would know; you would know (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	sabríamos	we would know
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	sabríais	you would know (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	sabrían	they would know; you would know (plural)

• Sabría qué hacer en esa situación. — I would know what to do in that situation.

Saber present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; regional distribution varies. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle sabido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he sabido	I have known
Tú — you, singular informal	has sabido	you have known
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha sabido	he / she has known; you have known (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos sabido	we have known
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis sabido	you have known (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han sabido	they have known; you have known (plural)

• He sabido la noticia esta mañana. — I learned / found out the news this morning.

Saber past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle sabido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había sabido	I had known
Tú — you, singular informal	habías sabido	you had known
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había sabido	he / she had known; you had known (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos sabido	we had known
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais sabido	you had known (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían sabido	they had known; you had known (plural)

• Ya había sabido la verdad antes de la reunión. — I had already learned the truth before the meeting.

Saber future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle sabido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré sabido	I will have known
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás sabido	you will have known
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá sabido	he / she will have known; you will have known (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos sabido	we will have known
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis sabido	you will have known (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán sabido	they will have known; you will have known (plural)

• Para entonces habrán sabido todos los detalles. — By then they will have learned all the details.

Saber conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle sabido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría sabido	I would have known
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías sabido	you would have known
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría sabido	he / she would have known; you would have known (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos sabido	we would have known
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais sabido	you would have known (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían sabido	they would have known; you would have known (plural)

• Habría sabido qué hacer con más información. — I would have known what to do with more information.

Saber subjunctive conjugations

Saber present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate environments involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. The present subjunctive uses the irregular sep- family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	sepa	that I know
Tú — you, singular informal	sepas	that you know
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	sepa	that he / she know; that you know (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	sepamos	that we know
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	sepáis	that you know (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	sepan	that they know; that you know (plural)

• Quiero que sepas la verdad. — I want you to know the truth.

Saber imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. These forms use the supier- family; the main table shows the -ra series.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	supiera	that I found out / knew
Tú — you, singular informal	supieras	that you found out / knew
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	supiera	that he / she found out / knew; that you found out / knew (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	supiéramos	that we found out / knew
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	supierais	that you found out / knew (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	supieran	that they found out / knew; that you found out / knew (plural)

• Preferían que supiéramos la respuesta antes. — They preferred that we know the answer beforehand.
• Era importante que supieses qué hacer. — It was important that you know what to do.

Saber future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts. These rare forms use the supier- family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	supiere	if / when I should know
Tú — you, singular informal	supieres	if / when you should know
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	supiere	if / when he / she should know; if / when you should know (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	supiéremos	if / when we should know
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	supiereis	if / when you should know (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	supieren	if / when they should know; if / when you should know (plural)

• Quien supiere la respuesta deberá comunicarla. — Whoever should know the answer must communicate it.

Saber present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle sabido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya sabido	that I have known
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas sabido	that you have known
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya sabido	that he / she has known; that you have known (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos sabido	that we have known
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis sabido	that you have known (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan sabido	that they have known; that you have known (plural)

• Me alegra que hayas sabido resolver el problema. — I am glad that you knew how to solve the problem.

Saber past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle sabido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera sabido	that I had known
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras sabido	that you had known
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera sabido	that he / she had known; that you had known (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos sabido	that we had known
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais sabido	that you had known (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran sabido	that they had known; that you had known (plural)

• Si hubiera sabido la verdad, habría actuado de otra manera. — If I had known the truth, I would have acted differently.
• Si hubieses sabido nadar, habrías podido ayudar. — If you had known how to swim, you could have helped.

Saber future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. Treat it as a formal or historical reference form, not an everyday conversational target. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle sabido.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere sabido	if / when I should have known
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres sabido	if / when you should have known
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere sabido	if / when he / she should have known; if / when you should have known (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos sabido	if / when we should have known
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis sabido	if / when you should have known (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren sabido	if / when they should have known; if / when you should have known (plural)

• Si hubieren sabido los hechos, deberán declararlos. — If they should have known the facts, they must state them.

Saber imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. The nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Saber affirmative commands

Pragmatically marked. RAE records sabe / sabé, sepa, sabed, sepan. Direct commands meaning “know” are uncommon and usually rhetorical, literary, or instructional, as in Sabe esto — “Know this.” The nosotros/nosotras form sepamos is an exhortative subjunctive included for the project format.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	sabe	know
Usted — you, singular formal	sepa	know (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	sepamos	let’s know
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	sabed	know (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	sepan	know (plural)

• Sabe esto: puedes pedir ayuda. — Know this: you can ask for help. (marked imperative)

Saber negative commands

Usage-sensitive. These negative forms are morphologically valid and subjunctive-based, but direct commands with the verb’s core stative or outcome meaning are marked. Treat the table as a complete reference paradigm and rely on natural context.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no sepas	do not know
Usted — you, singular formal	no sepa	do not know (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no sepamos	let’s not know
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no sepáis	do not know (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no sepan	do not know (plural)

• No sepas solo la teoría; aprende también a aplicarla. — Do not know only the theory; also learn how to apply it. (marked command)

Common constructions with Saber

These patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the target verb is used.

• saber algo / que + clause. — to know something / know that something is the case.
• saber + infinitive. — to know how to do something.
• saber de alguien o algo. — to have information about someone or something.
• saber a + noun. — to taste like something.

Example sentences with Saber

These examples reinforce the target verb across useful forms and contexts already taught in the lesson.

• No sé qué decir. — I do not know what to say.
• ¿Sabes nadar? — Do you know how to swim?
• Sé que tienes razón. — I know that you are right.
• La sopa sabe a ajo. — The soup tastes like garlic.
• Espero que sepas la respuesta. — I hope you know the answer.
• Supe del cambio esta mañana. — I found out about the change this morning.

Regional and usage notes for Saber

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes for project comparability. Voseo changes some second-person singular forms in regions where vos — “you, singular informal” — is used.

• Vos sabés la respuesta. — You know the answer. (voseo)
• Sabé esto: siempre podés preguntar. — Know this: you can always ask. (affirmative vos, marked imperative)

Saber is strongly irregular. Learn the families separately: sé, sup-, sabr-, sep-, and supier-. In usage, remember that preterite supe often signals finding something out rather than simply possessing prior knowledge.