Mi hermana sabe envolver muy bien los libros y siempre hace un lazo perfecto.

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Breakdown of Mi hermana sabe envolver muy bien los libros y siempre hace un lazo perfecto.

• el libro: the book
• mi: my
• muy: very

Questions & Answers about Mi hermana sabe envolver muy bien los libros y siempre hace un lazo perfecto.

Why is it sabe envolver and not sabe envuelve?

Because after saber when it means to know how to do something, Spanish uses the infinitive.

• sabe envolver = she knows how to wrap
• not sabe envuelve

This is the same pattern as:

• Sé nadar = I know how to swim
• ¿Sabes cocinar? = Do you know how to cook?

So saber + infinitive is the key structure here.

What exactly does saber + infinitive mean here?

Here saber + infinitive means to know how to do something, usually because it is a learned skill.

So:

• Mi hermana sabe envolver muy bien los libros = My sister knows how to wrap books very well

This is slightly different from poder + infinitive, which usually means to be able to in the sense of possibility or capability at that moment.

Compare:

• Sabe envolver regalos = She has the skill of gift-wrapping
• Puede envolverlos ahora = She is able to wrap them now

Why is envolver in the infinitive and not changed to match mi hermana?