01 · A fact you're asking for
¿Sabes dónde está la biblioteca?
Do you know where the library is?
Saber for information — anything with dónde, qué or cómo attached to it goes here.
andbefluent.com/spanish/know-it-all
Know It All
Pick the right 'know' for facts, skills, people and places — instantly, out loud.
Spanish splits to know in two. Saber is head knowledge — facts, information, skills: sé la respuesta, sé que tienes razón, and with an infinitive, knowing how — sé nadar, sabe cocinar. Conocer is experience knowledge — people and places you're familiar with: conozco Madrid, conozco a tu hermano (people take the personal a). Any clause with que, dónde or cómo takes saber; skills never take conocer. Bonus: in the preterite the meanings shift — supe = found out, conocí = met for the first time.
Below: the questions this pair unlocks, the mix-ups that mark you as a learner, and a way to practise choosing the right verb mid-sentence, out loud — no multiple-choice quizzes.
The warm-up pack
The two 'to know's, side by side — picked in the moment, not off a multiple-choice quiz.
01 · A fact you're asking for
¿Sabes dónde está la biblioteca?
Do you know where the library is?
Saber for information — anything with dónde, qué or cómo attached to it goes here.
02 · A person you're asking about
¿Conoces a mi hermano?
Do you know my brother?
Conocer for people, and notice the a right before mi hermano — it's there whenever conocer meets a specific person.
03 · Backing someone up
Sé que tienes razón.
I know that you're right.
Saber + que — a clause like this is always saber, never conocer, no matter how it'd translate in English.
04 · A place you've spent time in
Conozco muy bien Madrid.
I know Madrid very well.
Conocer for places — this is familiarity from having actually been there, not facts about it.
05 · A skill you have
¿Sabes cocinar?
Do you know how to cook?
Saber + infinitive is how Spanish says know how to. Conocer never goes here, even though English uses 'know' for both.
06 · A skill someone else has
Mi hijo ya sabe nadar.
My son already knows how to swim.
Same saber + infinitive — this is the shape you'll use for anyone's abilities, not just your own.
07 · Have you been?
¿Conoces este restaurante?
Do you know this restaurant? (Have you been?)
Conocer here means have you experienced it, not do you know facts about it — a very different question than sabes.
08 · The natural gossip opener
¿Sabías que hay una fiesta el sábado?
Did you know there's a party on Saturday?
Sabías — imperfect saber — is exactly how you'd open with news in Spanish. Facts stay on the saber side even in the past.
09 · Found out, not always knew
Supe la noticia ayer.
I found out the news yesterday.
In the preterite, saber shifts meaning — supe is the moment you learned something, not ongoing knowledge.
10 · Met, not always knew
Conocí a mi esposa en la universidad.
I met my wife at university.
Conocer shifts the same way — conocí marks the first meeting, the moment familiarity began.
11 · Both, in one sentence
Sé que Barcelona es bonita, pero no la conozco.
I know Barcelona is beautiful (fact), but I don't know it (never been).
This is the whole badge in one line — a fact you know and a place you don't, side by side.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/know-it-allRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Carla
Your grammar teacher for this pack
There's no quiz in the Know It All lessons — Carla just keeps asking you the kind of questions Spanish speakers ask all day, and you have to pick the verb live. A fact: ¿sabes a qué hora abre el museo? A person: ¿conoces a mi hermano? A place: ¿conoces Madrid? Then a skills round — three things you know how to do with sé + infinitive (sé cocinar, sé nadar) — and a stretch into the past: when you found something out (supe…) and when you met someone (conocí a…). Out loud, until the choice is automatic instead of translated.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 5 lessons and Know It All is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
Saber = facts, information and skills (sé que tienes razón, sé nadar). Conocer = people, places and things you're familiar with from experience (conozco a María, conozco Madrid). Head knowledge vs been-there-met-them knowledge.
Conocer — being familiar with a place is experience: conozco muy bien Madrid. But facts about the place take saber: sé que Barcelona es bonita, pero no la conozco — I know it's beautiful, but I've never been.
Saber + infinitive, never conocer: sé nadar (I know how to swim), sabe hablar tres idiomas, ¿sabes manejar? (do you know how to drive?).
When conocer is followed by a specific person, Spanish requires the personal a: conozco a tu hermano, ¿conoces a mi hermano? Leaving it out is one of the most common learner slips.
In the preterite both verbs shift meaning: supe la noticia ayer = I found out the news yesterday; conocí a mi esposa en la universidad = I met my wife at university (for the first time).