44
Expressing knowledge
To express knowledge, Spanish uses two different verbs, saber and conocer, ‘to know’.
Their uses are clearly differentiated by native speakers, as you will see from the
examples below.44.1 Expressing knowledge of a fact
To express knowledge or ignorance of a fact and, generally, to say that one has or does
not have information about something, Spanish uses the verb saber. Remember that
saber is irregular in the first person singular of the present, yo sé, ‘I know’.
¿Sabes dónde está Fernando?
Do you know where Fernando is?
No lo sé.
I don’t know.
¿Sabías que se casó Laura?
Did you know Laura got married?
Sí, ya lo sabía.
Yes, I knew.Ignorance of a fact can also be expressed by using verbs such as ignorar or desconocer,
‘not to know’, ‘to be unaware of’.
Ignoro qué les ha pasado.
I don’t know what has happened to them.
Desconozco la razón.
I don’t know the reason.Note also the following more colloquial expressions:
No tengo ni idea.
I haven’t a clue.
No tengo ni la menor/ni la más mínima/remota idea.
I haven’t the slightest idea.
¡Ni idea!
No idea!