Saber Conjugation in Portuguese

What’s up, everyone! 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

Imperative

Subjunctive

Other tenses

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 você fez no verão passado.
I know what you did last summer.

Nós 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 é legal!
He knows that Rio & Learn’s instagram is cool. 

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 conheço o Igor Severo.
I know Igor Severo.

Eu sei que o Igor é 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 você 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

Você soube que o John chegou no Rio ontem?
Did you know that John arrived in Rio yesterday?

Nós soubemos que ontem teve RioLIVE! Lagoon.
We knew that yesterday was RioLIVE! Lagoon. 

Practice saber conjugation in Portuguese

Let’s do some an exercise to conjugate saber in Portuguese:

1. O que você ______________ (present) sobre o Rio de Janeiro?
2. Quando éramos crianças, nós não ______________ (imperfect past) andar de bicicleta.
3. Ele vai ______________ (immediate future) tudo sobre português com a Dica do Dia!
4. Se eu ______________ (imperfect past) como resolver esse problema, já teria feito.
5. Ela ______________ do acidente pela internet e nós ______________ (simple past) pela TV.
6. Você já tinha ______________ (participle) algumas palavras em português antes de vir ao Brasil?
7. Quando você ______________ (future subjunctive) de alguma novidade, me avise!
8. Eu preciso que vocês ______________ (present subjunctive) a diferença entre português e espanhol.
9. No próximo fim de semana ela ______________ (simple future) mais histórias sobre o Rio.
10. O que eles estão ______________ (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.
What about you? Do you know where the best place to learn Portuguese in Brazil is?

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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

1. sabe
2. sabíamos
3. saber
4. soubesse
5. soube/soubemos
6. sabido
7. souber
8. saibam
9. saberá
10. sabendo