Saber Vs Conocer / Pedir Vs. Preguntar

Lesson Topics

• Show All | Collapse All
• Unit One
  • 1. Gender of Nouns I
  • 2. Gender of Nouns II
  • 3. Numbers: 1-10
  • 4. Plural Forms of Nouns
  • 5. Def. & Indef. Articles
  • 6. The Verb Form "Hay"
  • 7. Subject Pronouns
  • 8. Reg. Verbs I
  • 9. Reg. Verbs II
  • 10. Reg. Verbs III
  • 11. Adjectives I
  • 12. Adjectives II
  • 13. Days of the Week
  • 14. Numbers: 11-30
• Unit Two
  • 15. Ser and Estar I
  • 16. Ser and Estar II
  • 17. Ser and Estar III
  • 18. Ser and Estar IV
  • 19. Negation
  • 20. Questions
  • 21. Poss. Adjectives
  • 22. Tener, venir
  • 23. "Tener Que" and "Hay Que"
  • 24. Exp. with "Tener"
  • 25. Weather Expressions
  • 26. The Personal "a"
  • 27. Contractions
• Unit Three
  • 28. Stem-Changing Verbs: o:ue
  • 29. Stem-Changing Verbs: e:ie
  • 30. Stem-changing verbs: e:i
  • 31. Estar, Ir, Dar
  • 32. "Ir A" + Infinitive
  • 33. "Acabar De" + Infinitive
  • 34. "Volver A" + Infinitive
  • 35. Ordinal Numbers
  • 36. Months, Seasons, and Dates
  • 37. Comparisons of Inequality
  • 38. Comparisons of Equality
  • 39. Superlatives
• Unit Four
  • 40. Pronouns as Objects of Prepositions
  • 41. Dir. Object Pronouns I
  • 42. Dir. Object Pronouns II
  • 43. Dir. Object Pronouns III
  • 44. Ind. Object Pronouns I
  • 45. Ind. Object Pronouns II
  • 46. Ind. Object Pronouns III
  • 47. DO and IO Pronouns Together
  • 48. Verbs Like Gustar
  • 49. Present Progressive
  • 50. Verbs with Irregular 1st Persons
• Unit Five
  • 51. Saber vs Conocer / Pedir vs Preguntar
    • Basic Quiz
    • Mini-Test
    • Quiz 2
    • Quiz 3
    • Quiz 4
    • Test 2
    • Final
  • 52. Numbers: 31-1000
  • 53. Telling Time
  • 54. "Por" and "Para"
  • 55. Irreg. Comparatives
  • 56. Demonstratives
  • 57. Time Expressions with "Hacer"
  • 58. Possessive Pronouns
  • 59. Reflexive Verbs I
  • 60. Reflexive Verbs II
  • 61. Definite Article II
• Unit Six
  • 62. Pret. vs Imp. I
  • 63. Preterite I
  • 64. Imperfect I
  • 65. Preterite II
  • 66. Imperfect II
  • 67. Pret. vs Imp. II
  • 68. Preterite III
  • 69. Imperfect III
  • 70. Preterite IV
  • 71. Preterite V
  • 72. Preterite VI
  • 73. Pret. vs Imp. III
  • 74. Pret. vs Imp. Review
• Unit Seven
  • 75. "Hace ..." to mean "ago"
  • 76. Formation of Adverbs
  • 77. Subjunctive I: Introduction
  • 78. Subjunctive II: Conjugating regular and stem-changing verbs
  • 79. Subjunctive III: Verbs that change orthographically
  • 80. Subjunctive IV: Irregular verbs
  • 81. Subjunctive V: Desire
  • 82. Subjunctive VI: Ignorance, doubt
  • 83. Subjunctive VII: Impersonal Expressions
  • 84. Subjunctive VIII: Actions not yet completed
• Unit Eight
  • 85. Rel. Pronouns - que
  • 86. Rel. Pronouns - quien
  • 87. Rel. Pronouns - el que and lo que
  • 88. Rel. Adjective - cuyo
  • 89. Rel. Pronouns and Adjectives - Review
  • 90. Formal Commands
  • 91. Inform. Commands - tú
  • 92. Irreg. Commands - tú
  • 93. Using Object Pronouns with Commands
  • 94. Commands Review I
  • 95. Informal Commands - vosotros
  • 96. 1st Person Commands - nosotros
  • 97. Indirect Commands
  • 98. Commands Review II
• Unit Nine
  • 99. Future
  • 100. Past Participle
  • 101. Present Perfect
  • 102. Past Perfect (Pluperfect)
  • 103. Future Perfect
  • 104. Conditional
  • 105. Imperfect Subjunctive I
  • 106. Imperfect Subjunctive II
  • 107. Imperfect Subjunctive III
  • 108. Rules of Accentuation

"Saber" vs. "Conocer" / "Pedir" vs. "Preguntar"

Notes:

1. The written lesson is below.
2. Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left.

In Spanish, there are two verbs that express the idea “to know.” These two verbs are “saber” and “conocer.” The verb you choose depends upon the context in which it is used. These verbs are not interchangeable.

To express knowledge or ignorance of a fact or information about something, use “saber.”

Juan sabe dónde está María. Juan knows where Maria is.

Yo no sé tu número de teléfono. I don’t know your telephone number.

To say that one is or is not acquainted with a person, a place, or an object, use conocer.

Yo no conozco a María. I don’t know (am not acquainted with) Maria.

Alberto y Alfredo conocen Madrid. Alberto and Alfredo know (are acquainted with) Madrid.

To express knowledge or ignorance of a subject or learning discipline, use saber or conocer, depending upon the context.

Juan no sabe nada de inglés. Juan doesn’t know any English.

Él sabe matemáticas. He knows mathematics.

Juan conoce la literatura española. Juan is familiar with Spanish literature.

To express knowledge or ignorance of a skill, or how to do something, use saber + infinitive.

María sabe conducir. Maria knows how to drive.

No sé nadar muy bien. I don’t know how to swim very well.

To say that you know something by heart, use saber.

María sabe los verbos irregulares. Maria knows the irregular verbs (by heart).

Ella no sabe la letra de esa canción. She doesn’t know the words to that song.

The situation with regards to the correct use of saber and conocer can be summarized as follows:

saber to know a fact, to know something thoroughly, to know how to do something

conocer to be acquainted with a person, place, or thing

The same sort of situation exists with respect to the two Spanish verbs pedir and preguntar. They both mean “to ask” but they are not interchangeable. Fortunately, the rules for using them are a bit more straightforward:

pedir to ask for, or request an object, service or favor

Pido más carne. I ask for more meat.

Pedimos ahora. We order now (ask for service).

preguntar to ask a question, or request information

Pregunto qué hora es. I ask what time it is.

Preguntamos a qué hora sirven la cena. We ask what time they serve dinner.

Your verb flashcards should be your constant companions. You should always have them with you, and you should pull them out several times each day, even if you only look at them for a couple of minutes. Now, let’s add these two verbs to our growing stack:

Verb Flashcards Complete List

Saber vs Conocer

saber: to know (facts, information, how to do something, something by heart) conocer: to know (to be familiar with people, places, things)

Pedir vs Preguntar

pedir: to ask (for an object or a service) preguntar: to ask (a question, request information)

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