![]() Conocer: understand the difference in 4 minutes No, no lo conozco (No, I don’t know him)įor more on this topic, check out this video I made: Saber vs.Conoces a ese tipo? (Do you know that guy?).This is a topic of its own, but here’s a quick example: If what you don’t know is a person, place, or thing - aka, you’re not familiar with it - you use conocer. Note: Sometimes you don’t use saber at all! When in doubt, just skip the “lo” and say no sabía. The difference between No sabía and no lo sabía is the same as the difference between no sé and no lo sé: the “lo” refers to something previously discussed. Just know that ( yo) sabía means I knew, and ( yo) no sabía means I didn’t know. If you’re a beginner, you don’t need to worry about what the imperfect is right now. Yo sabía is the 1st person “imperfect” of the verb saber. Luckily, there is one reliable way to say “I didn’t know”: “ No sabía”. “I didn’t know” is one of those phrases! It’s extremely useful regardless of your level. Profe: Y Daniela, sabes cuál es la capital de Australia?Įven if you’re a complete beginner in Spanish, and have perhaps been told that you’re not quite ready for the past tense yet, it’s still worth learning some set phrases in the past.Ok class, who can tell me the capital of Australia? Juan, do you know?.Profesor: Bueno clase, quien puede decirme cuál es la capital de Australia? Juan, lo sabes tú?.When that happens, and you want to say “I don’t know either”, you can say: Sometimes, nobody knows squat- nadie sabe nada. Quién comió mi sandwhich? – yo no sé… pero creo que él sí sabe! I don’t know either You: Y o no sé, pero él sí ( I don’t know, but he does - pointing at your brother).So when you include yo, you are emphasizing that it is you (not someone else) who doesn’t know. No sé already contains the information meaning “ I don’t know”. Instead, pronouns get used mainly for emphasis. The nice thing about Spanish conjugations is that they tell you who is speaking - so it’s not usually necessary to use a pronoun to say who is speaking. In the examples above, why is the yo (I) omitted? But the guidelines above still apply broadly, and you’ll be understood regardless of which one you say. ![]() Like with everything in the Spanish language, you’ll hear “no lo sé” more often in some countries than others. There’s a subtle difference between ‘no sé’ and ‘no lo sé’, and you’ll hear ‘no lo sé’ more often in some Spanish-speaking places than others. Iba a ir a la fiesta, pero ahora no sé… (I was going to go to the party, but now I don’t know).No sé qué voy a cocinar esta noche (I don’t know what I’m going to cook tonight).Use no sé in all other cases - when you’re not referring to something already discussed, or you’re talking about something non-specific.❼uando llega tu mamá? (when is your mom arriving?).¿Por qué el cielo se ve azul? (why is the sky blue?).Use no lo sé when you’re referring back to something already discussed.It happens often that common phrases, idioms and expressions (like “I can’t wait”) can’t be translated literallyĮven though “I don’t know it” sounds funny in English, in Spanish, no lo sé is very common. This sounds a bit awkward in English - we don’t typically use that sentence structure. Well literally, no lo sé means I don’t know it. ![]() They both mean “I don’t know”, so why do you hear both? What’s the difference between no sé and no lo sé?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |