Saber y conocer Saber and Conocer both mean to know.

saber Yo sé Nosotr@s sabemos Tú sabes Él, ella, usted sabe Ell@s saben

Saber: to know a fact or data Nosotros Sabemos que Rodolfo y Luisa son estudiantes. – We know that Rodolfo & Luisa are students. ¿Tú Sabes los días de la semana?- do you know the days of the week? Yo sé el número de teléfono de Pablo.- I know Pablo’s phone number.

Saber + infinitive= to know how to do something Yo sé esquiar. - I know how to ski. ¿Sabes cocinar? - Do you know how to cook? Los niños no saben nadar. - The kids do not know how to swim. *Conocer is never followed by an infinitive.

Saber is often followed by a question word Question words Que Cuando Como Cual Por que Quien donde Ejemplos: Nosotros Sabemos quién es Drake. -We know who Drake is. ¿tú sabes dónde está la oficina? -Do you know where the office is? Yo no sé cuándo sale el tren para Nueva York. -I do not know when the train to New York leaves. *Conocer is never followed by a question word.

Saber is also used when you can recite something from memory (de memoria) like a song, directions, phone number, etc.. “bidi bidi bom bom”

conocer Yo conozco nosotr@s conocemos Tú conoces Él, ella, usted conoce ell@s conocen

Conocer: to be familiar/ acquainted with a person, place or thing. Think of it as knowing the person, place or thing personally. Examples: Yo Conozco al Señor Mateo.- I am familiar with Mr. Mateo. Él conoce al cocinero.- He is familiar with the chef. Nosotros conocemos Austin, Tx. ** When conocer is followed by a person, you must use “a” before the person. Yo conozco a tus padres. Mis estudiantes conocen al señor Wrinkle. ***You do not use “a” when you are familiar with a place. Conozco Cedar Park.

Notice the contrast between saber and conocer in the following sentences. Yo sé quién es Kim K, pero no conozco a Kim K personalmente.- I know who Kim K is, but I don’t know Kim K personally. Nosotros Sabemos dónde está Houston, pero no conocemos la ciudad.-We know where Houston is, but we aren’t familiar with the city. Julia sabe que Einstein recibió el premio Nobel, pero no conoce sus obras.- Julia knows that Einstein received the Nobel prize, but she isn’t familiar with his work.

Práctica # 1: Saber y Conocer En pares, escribe las oraciones y state whether or not you would use saber or conocer & why. 1. I know my brother’s teacher. 2. I know that my brother’s teacher is Ms. Smith. 3. I know that Nicaragua is to the north of Costa Rica. 4. I know San José, the capital of Costa Rica very well. 5. I know how to dance salsa. 6. I know all the great salsa musicians.

Práctica #2: Saber y conocer Complete exercises on page 52, activities 9-11 in your textbook. If you do not finish in class you must finish for homework.