37

Irregular verbs sapere and conoscere (to know)

Sapere – basic meaning: to know [a fact]);when followed by an infinitive, sapere means “to know how to [do something]”

Present tense: so, sai, sa, sappiamo, sapete, sanno

Imperfect: sapevo, etc.

Past absolute: seppi, sapesti, seppe, sapemmo, sapeste, seppero

Past participle: saputo

NOTE: The present perfect (ho saputo, etc.) and the past absolute mean: “to have learned [something],” in the sense of “found out.”

Non lo sapevate? –No, l’ho saputo oggi. — You didn’t know it? —No, I learned it today. [No, I found out today.]

Conoscere — basic meaning: “to know” in the sense of “to be acquainted with” or “to be familiar with.”

Present tense: conosco, conosci, conosce, conosciamo, conoscete, conoscono

Imperfect: conoscevo, etc.

Past absolute: conobbi, conoscesti, conobbe, conoscemmo, conosceste, conobbero

Past participle: conosciuto

Conoscere is used to mean “to know” whenever familiarity or acquaintance is meant, and so it is conoscere that is used when speaking of persons, places, works (of art or literature), and other things, that cannot be “known” in the same way that facts can. The knowledge implied when sapere is used is normally much more complete than when conoscere is used. In speaking of a poem, for example, one may say “Conosco questo poema,” meaning “I am familiar with this poem.” One uses sapere to mean “to know by heart,” e.g., sapere a memoria: So questo poema a memoria.

VOCABULARY