saber Negative Imperative Conjugation
saber — to know
All negative commands for saber use the present subjunctive forms preceded by 'no'.
saber Negative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Negative Imperative
Use to tell someone 'don't know' or 'don't find out' (though rarely used in common speech except in specific contexts).
Notes on saber in the Negative Imperative
Uses the 'sep-' stem from the present subjunctive for all persons.
Example Sentences
No sepas demasiado, es peligroso.
Don't know too much; it's dangerous.
tú
No sepamos la sorpresa antes de tiempo.
Let's not find out the surprise ahead of time.
nosotros
No sepan ustedes que yo estuve aquí.
Don't you (formal plural) know that I was here.
Common Mistakes
Mistake: No sabes.
Correct: No sepas.
Why: Negative commands must use the subjunctive, not the indicative 'sabes'.
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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.
Conditional
yo: sabría
The conditional uses the same irregular stem as the future: 'sabr-'.
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...'.