Learn French: Je le sais, tu as mal à ce muscle. - I know it, you have a pain in this muscle.

Word

Je le sais, tu as mal à ce muscle.

Meaning

I know it, you have a pain in this muscle.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

French

Lesson

Time clauses before an action (avant de)

Breakdown of Je le sais, tu as mal à ce muscle.

you (informal singular)

this (before a noun)

at / to / in (general locations) / about (what one thinks about / reacts to)

Questions & Answers about Je le sais, tu as mal à ce muscle.

Why is there a le in Je le sais? Doesn't Je sais mean "I know"?

In French, savoir (to know a fact) often needs a direct object. When you say "I know" referring to a situation or fact that was already mentioned, you use the neutral pronoun le (it) to represent that entire idea: Je le sais (I know it).

How does the phrase avoir mal à work in this sentence?

The expression avoir mal à is the standard way to express pain or aches in French. You conjugate avoir (here, tu as) and follow it with mal à plus the body part. It translates nicely to "your [body part] hurts" or "you have a pain in your [body part]".

Why use ce before muscle?

Ce is a demonstrative adjective meaning "this" or "that". You use ce because muscle is a masculine singular noun. (If the noun were feminine, you would use cette, and if it were a masculine noun starting with a vowel sound, you would use cet).

Could I use Je le connais instead of Je le sais here?

No, because you are referring to knowing a fact or a situation (that the person's muscle hurts). You use savoir for knowing facts, information, or how to do things. Connaître is strictly used for being familiar with a person, place, or entity.