Breakdown of Elle ne sait jamais où est la station de métro.
être
to be
elle
she
ne
not (used before the verb)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
où
where
le métro
the subway
jamais
never / ever
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
savoir
to know (a fact), to know how to
la station
the station (e.g., metro)
Questions & Answers about Elle ne sait jamais où est la station de métro.
Why do we use sait (savoir) instead of a form of connaître here?
We use savoir because it is followed by the question word où (where). Savoir is used for facts and information, and it often introduces a clause with words like où, quand, or que. Connaître is only used directly with nouns to mean you are personally familiar with a person, place, or thing (like Elle connaît la station - She is familiar with the station).
Why isn't there a pas in this negative sentence?
The structure ne ... jamais means "never". It wraps around the conjugated verb (sait) in exactly the same way ne ... pas does. Whenever you use a specific negative word like jamais (never), rien (nothing), or personne (nobody), you drop the pas.
Why does the French word order translate literally to "where is the metro station" instead of "where the metro station is"?
In English, we change the word order for indirect questions in the middle of a sentence. In French, after a question word like où, it is very natural to keep the verb before the subject if that subject is a full noun like la station de métro. Saying où la station de métro est is technically possible, but où est la station de métro sounds much more elegant to French ears.
Why is it station de métro and not station du métro?
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