Inklingo
A person's head shown in profile with a single, bright, glowing lightbulb floating above it, symbolizing knowing a fact or piece of information.

saber Preterite Conjugation

saberto know

A1irregular -er★★★★★
Quick answer:

In the preterite, saber changes meaning to 'found out' or 'learned' and uses the irregular stem 'sup-'.

saber Preterite Forms

yosupe
supiste
él/ella/ustedsupo
nosotrossupimos
vosotrossupisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedessupieron

When to Use the Preterite

Use the preterite when you want to say you discovered a specific piece of information at a particular moment. Unlike the imperfect, which means 'knew', the preterite supe implies the moment of realization.

Notes on saber in the Preterite

Saber is highly irregular here. It uses the stem 'sup-' and takes the special irregular endings (-e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron) with no accents.

Example Sentences

  • Supe la verdad ayer.

    I found out the truth yesterday.

    yo

  • ¿Cuándo supiste que ella venía?

    When did you find out she was coming?

  • Ellos lo supieron por las noticias.

    They found out about it through the news.

    ellos/ellas/ustedes

Common Mistakes

  • Mistake: Using 'sabí' or 'sabi'.

    Correct: The form is 'supe'.

    Why: Learners often try to apply regular -er endings to the stem, but saber is a 'u-stem' irregular verb in the preterite.

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Related Tenses