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The return of ABBA has got us all singing \u201cknowing me, knowing you, a-ha\u201d, but do you really know the ins and outs of the French savoir <\/em>conjugation? Savoir, <\/em>of course, means \u201cto know\u201d, and if you want to add a little \u201cje ne sais quoi\u201d to your French skills, then it\u2019s a verb that you’re going to find very useful.<\/p>\n For facts or in-depth knowledge<\/strong><\/p>\n Often followed by a subordinate clause introduced by a subordinating conjunction such as que, qui, o\u00f9, <\/em>and quand,<\/em> among others. This shows you have knowledge of something.<\/p>\n On sait<\/b><\/span> qu\u2019il y a plus de 100 milliards d’\u00e9toiles dans la Voie Lact\u00e9e – We know that there are over 100 billion stars in the Milky Way<\/i><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n For skills<\/strong><\/p>\n Followed by an infinitive verb, it means \u201cto know how to do something\u201d, and is usually translated by \u201ccan\u201d.<\/p>\n Je sais<\/b><\/span> danser mais je ne sais<\/b><\/span> pas chanter – I can dance but I can\u2019t sing<\/i><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n For received information<\/strong><\/p>\n Also introduced by subordinate propositions, this can be used to express something you\u2019ve learned, found out, been told or heard.<\/p>\n Je sais<\/b><\/span> que tu d\u00e9missionnes, je l\u2019ai entendu au r\u00e9fectoire – I know you\u2019re quitting (your job), I overheard in the canteen<\/i><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Savoir <\/em>is one of many verbs ending in -oir. Once you\u2019ve learned the endings for these verbs it will be much easier for you to use all of the other oir <\/em>verbs<\/a>.<\/p>\n There are two verbs in French that mean \u201cto know\u201d depending on the context. As we saw above, savoir <\/em>is used for facts and figures, received information and skills, so when do we use conna\u00eetre<\/em>? Conna\u00eetre <\/em>is used to talk about the existence of something, things you\u2019ve already experienced before, as well as for talking about places and people you know. You could also remember it as the way of saying what you’re familiar with.<\/p>\n Unlike savoir<\/em>, conna\u00eetre <\/em>is never followed by a verb. Moreover, it can never be followed by a subordinate proposition introduced by que\/qui\/o\u00f9\/quand\/pourquoi <\/em>etc. Instead, conna\u00eetre<\/em> must be used with a direct object, which may be a person, place, or thing.<\/p>\n To learn more about conna\u00eetre<\/em>, check out our post Everything You Should Know About the French \u201cConna\u00eetre\u201d Conjugation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>When to Use the \u201cSavoir\u201d Conjugation<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Conna\u00eetre<\/em> vs. Savoir<\/em><\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Savoir<\/em> Conjugation Present Tense (le pr\u00e9sent)<\/h2>\n