44.2 Saying that one knows a person, a place or an object
To say that one knows or does not know a person, a place or an object, Spanish uses
conocer, a verb which is irregular in the first person singular of the present, yo
conozco, ‘I know’.
¿Conoces a Ricardo?
Do you know Ricardo?
Lo conozco muy bien.
I know him very well.
Conocimos muchos países.
We knew several countries.
¿Conoces esta fruta?
Do you know this fruit?
No la conozco.
I do not know it.
Notice the use of the personal a before a direct object denoting a person:¿Conoces a
Ricardo?25.1.1.1 (p. 116)
44.3 Expressing knowledge of a subject or a skill
44.3.1 To say that we know or do not know a subject, for example Spanish, painting, etc., we
use saber or conocer. The first, however, seems to be more colloquial and frequent in
this context.
Paul no sabe nada de español.
Paul does not know any Spanish.
Ella conoce mucho de pintura.
She knows a lot about painting.
44.3.2 To express knowledge of a skill and, generally, to say that we know or do not know how
to do something, we use saber followed by an infinitive.
Pablo no sabía conducir.
Pablo did not know how to drive.
¿Sabes nadar?
Do you know how to swim?
Sé conducir, pero no muy bien.
I know how to drive, but not very well.
21.3 (p. 101)
44.4 Getting to know, becoming acquainted with or meeting
someone
These ideas are expressed in Spanish through conocerse.EXPRESSING KNOWLEDGE 44.2