Two ways to know: so, conosco

The forms

Sapere is irregular: so, sai, sa, sappiamo, sapete, sanno. The singular forms are short, like ho, hai, ha, and they carry no accent. Sappiamo has a double pp.

Conoscere is a regular -ere verb, but watch the sound of -sc-. Before o it’s hard, like sk: conosco, conoscono. Before i and e it’s soft, like the sh in shoe: conosci, conosce, conosciamo, conoscete. The spelling never changes to show this: no conoschi, no conoscio.

Capire has the same sound pattern: capisco (hard), capisci (soft).

sapere: facts and sentences

Use sapere for a fact or a piece of information: the time, an address, a number, the answer, someone’s name. Sai il numero di Anna? Non so la risposta.

Most often, a whole sentence follows: sapere che (know that), sapere se (know whether), and sapere dove, quando, come, chi, perché. So che sei stanco. Non so se Marco viene. Sai dove abita Paolo? Conoscere never introduces a sentence like this.

Come is fine before a full sentence: non so come si chiama (I don’t know what he’s called), so come funziona (I know how it works).

Non lo so and Lo sai che…?

When someone asks you something and you don’t know, say Non lo so. The lo stands for the whole fact: I don’t know it. Non so on its own is fine too, especially before more words (non so, forse domani), but Non lo so is the everyday answer.

Lo sai che…? is how Italians share news or a surprising fact: Did you know that…? The answer is often No, non lo sapevo! (No, I didn’t know!), a past form you’ll meet later; for now, just recognise it.

sapere + infinitive: knowing how

Sapere + an infinitive means know how to or can, for a skill you’ve learned: so nuotare (I can swim), sai cucinare? (can you cook?), non sa guidare (he can’t drive). There’s no come in between: so come nuotare is a word-for-word translation that Italians don’t say.

Compare potere, which you met with the modals. Potere says whether you’re able or allowed to right now: oggi non posso nuotare, ho il raffreddore. So a person who sa nuotare may still non può nuotare today.

conoscere: people, places, works

Use conoscere for people (conosco Marco), places (conosco bene Roma), and things you’re familiar with: a film, a book, a song, a restaurant, an artist’s work. Conosci i film di Fellini?

Conoscere always takes a noun straight after it, with no a: conosco Marco, not conosco a Marco. It often comes with bene (well) or un po’ (a bit): conosco un po’ Napoli.

A language can go either way: so l’inglese and conosco l’inglese are both fine. Parlo inglese is the most natural.

conoscere or incontrare?

Conoscere is a state: you know someone. To meet up with someone, or bump into them, use incontrare: stasera incontro Paolo al bar, incontro sempre la vicina sulle scale.

Later, with the passato prossimo, both verbs shift a little: ho conosciuto Paolo means I met Paolo (for the first time), and ho saputo means I found out. Don’t worry about these yet; just notice them when you hear them.

Common mistakes

• Conosco che Marco è di Roma.So che Marco è di Roma.A fact or a sentence after che takes sapere. Conoscere never takes a sentence.
• So bene Roma.Conosco bene Roma.Places and people take conoscere: you’re familiar with them.
• So come nuotare.So nuotare.A skill is sapere + the infinitive, with no come.
• Non conosco dove abita Luca.Non so dove abita Luca.Dove + a sentence is information: sapere.
• Io conoscio Marco. / Tu conoschi Marco?Io conosco Marco. / Tu conosci Marco?The spelling stays -sc-; only the sound changes: hard in conosco, soft in conosci.
• Stasera conosco Paolo al bar.Stasera incontro Paolo al bar.Meeting up with someone is incontrare.

The two verbs side by side

Sapere for facts and skills. Conoscere for people, places and things you’re familiar with.

Never conosco che, never so Roma, never so come nuotare.

Conosco, conoscono: hard sk sound. Conosci, conosce: soft sh sound.

A skill is sapere (so nuotare); being able right now is potere (oggi non posso).