saber Conditional Conjugation
saber — to know
The conditional uses the same irregular stem as the future: 'sabr-'.
saber Conditional Forms
When to Use the Conditional
Use the conditional to say someone 'would know' something in a hypothetical situation or to express 'future-in-the-past'.
Notes on saber in the Conditional
Like the future, the 'e' from the infinitive is dropped, resulting in the stem 'sabr-'.
Example Sentences
Yo sabría la respuesta si hubiera estudiado.
I would know the answer if I had studied.
yo
¿Sabrías decirme la hora?
Would you happen to know the time? (Polite)
tú
Dijeron que lo sabrían pronto.
They said they would know soon.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Sabería.
Correct: Sabría.
Why: Learners often forget to drop the 'e' from the infinitive stem.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'saber' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: sé
Saber is regular in the present tense except for the 'yo' form, which is the unique word 'sé'.
Preterite
yo: supe
In the preterite, saber changes meaning to 'found out' or 'learned' and uses the irregular stem 'sup-'.
Imperfect
yo: sabía
The imperfect of saber is completely regular: sabía, sabías, sabía, sabíamos, sabíais, sabían.
Future
yo: sabré
Saber uses the irregular stem 'sabr-' followed by standard future endings.
Present Subjunctive
yo: sepa
The present subjunctive of saber is irregular: sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepáis, sepan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: supiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the preterite stem 'sup-': supiera, supieras, supiera...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: sabe
The imperative of saber is rarely used alone but appears in phrases like 'Sabe que...' or 'Sepa usted...'.
Negative Imperative
yo: no sepas
All negative commands for saber use the present subjunctive forms preceded by 'no'.