
What’s up, everyone!Β What do you know? Do you know how to speak Portuguese? Do you know how to ride a bike? Do you know any famous people?
In today’s Dica we will learn how and when to use the verb to know in Portuguese in different situations, and besides that, we will also see something that causes a lot of doubt when learning Portuguese: the use of saber in the perfect and imperfect tense – Sabia vs. Soube. We will also learn all of the saber conjugation in Portuguese, both it’s regular and irregular forms!
Verb Saber in Portuguese
First of all, let’s understand what this verb means. You can use saber in Portuguese when you have knowledge of a subject and when you have some information about something. You can also use it to express an ability that you have.
Check out the Saber conjugation in Portuguese
Now that we know what the verb means, let’s check out the conjugation of saber in Portuguese, shall we? This is an irregular verb, so most conjugations will be different from the norm. It’s regular forms will be in bold, while the irregular will have an asterisk. Remember that the regular form can vary according to whether the verb ends in -AR, -ER, or -IR. Let’s take a look at the saber Portuguese conjugations:
Indicative
Present | Simple Past | Imperfect Past |
Eu sei* | Eu soube* | Eu sabia |
VocΓͺ sabe | VocΓͺ soube* | VocΓͺ sabia |
Ele/ ela sabe | Ele/ ela soube* | Ele/ ela sabia |
NΓ³s sabemos | NΓ³s soubemos* | NΓ³s sabΓamos |
VocΓͺs sabem | VocΓͺs souberam* | VocΓͺs sabiam |
Eles/ elas sabem | Eles/ elas souberam* | Eles/ elas sabiam |
Past pluperfect simple | Past pluperfect composed |
Eu soubera* | Eu tinha sabido |
VocΓͺ soubera* | VocΓͺ tinha sabido |
Ele/ ela soubera* | Ele/ ela tinha sabido |
NΓ³s soubΓ©ramos* | NΓ³s tΓnhamos sabido |
VocΓͺs souberam* | VocΓͺs tinham sabido |
Eles/ elas souberam* | Eles/ elas tinham sabido |
Simple Future | Immediate Future | Future of the past |
Eu saberei | Eu vou saber | Eu saberia |
VocΓͺ saberΓ‘ | VocΓͺ vai saber | VocΓͺ saberia |
Ele/ ela saberΓ‘ | Ele/ ela vai saber | Ele/ ela saberia |
NΓ³s saberemos | NΓ³s vamos saber | NΓ³s saberΓamos |
VocΓͺs saberΓ£o | VocΓͺs vΓ£o saber | VocΓͺs saberiam |
Eles/ elas saberΓ£o | Eles/ elas vΓ£o saber | Eles/ elas saberiam |
Imperative
Affirmative | Negative |
Saiba vocΓͺ* | NΓ£o saiba vocΓͺ* |
Saiba ele/ ela* | NΓ£o saiba ele/ ela* |
Saibamos nΓ³s* | NΓ£o saibamos nΓ³s* |
Saibam vocΓͺs* | NΓ£o saibam vocΓͺs* |
Saibam eles/ elas* | NΓ£o saibam eles/ elas* |
Subjunctive
Present | Imperfect Past | Future |
Que eu saiba* | Se eu soubesse* | Quando eu souber* |
Que vocΓͺ saiba* | Se vocΓͺ soubesse* | Quando vocΓͺ souber* |
Que ele saiba* | Se ele soubesse* | Quando ele souber* |
Que nΓ³s saibamos* | Se nΓ³s soubΓ©ssemos* | Quando nΓ³s soubermos* |
Que vocΓͺs saibam* | Se vocΓͺs soubessem* | Quando vocΓͺs souberem* |
Que eles saibam* | Se eles soubessem* | Quando eles souberem* |
Other tenses
Personal infinitive | Gerund | Participle |
Para saber eu | Sabendo | Sabido |
Para saber vocΓͺ | ||
Para saber ele/ela | ||
Para sabermos nΓ³s | ||
Para saberem vocΓͺs | ||
Para saberem eles/elas |
Now that you know the conjugation, let’s take a look at some examples at how to use saber:
Examples of the use of the saber conjugation in Portuguese
Eu sei o que vocΓͺ fez no verΓ£o passado.
I know what you did last summer.
NΓ³s sabemos andar de skate.
We know how to skate.
Eu sei como conseguir o visto de estudante no Brasil.
I know how to get a student visa in Brasil.
Elas sabem tocar violino.
They know how to play the violin.
Ele sabe que o instagram da Rio & Learn Γ© legal!
He knows that Rio & Learn’s instagram is cool.Β
Saber and Conhecer in Portuguese
Do you know the difference between saber and conhecer in Portuguese? In English, they are both the same verb: know. But in Portuguese we have different uses for each of them. Usually we use saber to express information and abilities while conhecer is for people and places. Want to know more? Check out our dica about this.
Examples
Eu conheΓ§o o Igor Severo.
I know Igor Severo.
Eu sei que o Igor Γ© severo.
I know that Igor is severe.
Do you like that pun? hahaha Severo is his last name, but it also means severe in Portuguese. (True story!)
Difference between Sabia and Soube
Now we are going to compare two forms of the verb to know in Portuguese in the past. When you use Sabia, the verb in the imperfect tense, you are saying that you know something by your intuition, in your guts.
Examples
Ela trouxe um guarda-chuva porque ela sabia que ia chover.
She brought an umbrella because she knew it was going to rain.
Eu sabia que vocΓͺ ia cair! Eu te avisei.
I knew that you were going to fall. I told you so.
On the other hand, when you use Soube, in the perfect tense, you are saying that you know it because someone told you. When you use Soube sometimes is almost like a gossip, fofoca.
Examples
VocΓͺ soube que o John chegou no Rio ontem?
Did you know that John arrived in Rio yesterday?
NΓ³s soubemos que ontem teve RioLIVE! Lagoon.
We knew that yesterday was RioLIVE! Lagoon.Β
Practice saber conjugation in Portuguese
Let’s do some an exercise to conjugate saber in Portuguese:
- O que vocΓͺ ______________ (present) sobre o Rio de Janeiro?
- Quando Γ©ramos crianΓ§as, nΓ³s nΓ£o ______________ (imperfect past) andar de bicicleta.
- Ele vai ______________ (immediate future) tudo sobre portuguΓͺs com a Dica do Dia!
- Se eu ______________ (imperfect past) como resolver esse problema, jΓ‘ teria feito.
- Ela ______________ do acidente pela internet e nΓ³s ______________ (simple past) pela TV.
- VocΓͺ jΓ‘ tinha ______________ (participle) algumas palavras em portuguΓͺs antes de vir ao Brasil?
- Quando vocΓͺ ______________ (future subjunctive) de alguma novidade, me avise!
- Eu preciso que vocΓͺs ______________ (present subjunctive) a diferenΓ§a entre portuguΓͺs e espanhol.
- No prΓ³ximo fim de semana ela ______________ (simple future) mais histΓ³rias sobre o Rio.
- O que eles estΓ£o ______________ (gerund)?
All good things come to an end, folks! And now you know how to use the saber conjugation in Portuguese in all verb tenses and some differences between the conjugations.
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Click on the links below to see more related Dicas
The difference between Saber and Conhecer
Regular verbs in -ER in Portuguese
Verbs in -Er in the simple past
Answers to the exercise of the saber conjugation in Portuguese
- sabe
- sabΓamos
- saber
- soubesse
- soube/soubemos
- sabido
- souber
- saibam
- saberΓ‘
- sabendo