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### The verb *sapere* (to know)

In Italian, the irregular verb **sapere** is used to talk about knowing facts, having information, or knowing how to do something. (To talk about being acquainted with a person or place, you will use a different verb).

Here is how to conjugate **sapere** in the present tense:

| Pronoun | Sapere |
| --- | --- |
| io | so |
| tu | sai |
| lui / lei / Lei | sa |
| noi | sappiamo |
| voi | sapete |
| loro | sanno |

### Knowing facts and information

You can use **sapere** with nouns to say that you know specific information, like the truth or the answer. It is also commonly used with words like **tutto** (everything) or **niente** (nothing). Notice that to say you "don't know anything" in Italian, you use a double negative: **non** before the verb and **niente** after it.

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### Knowing "if", "where", and "who"

**Sapere** often introduces a clause to explain exactly what you do or do not know. You can follow it with the word **se** (if), or with question words like **dove** (where) and **chi** (who).

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### Knowing "how to" do something (Skills)

To express that you have a learned skill or ability—like swimming, singing, or playing an instrument—use **sapere** followed directly by the infinitive (the dictionary form) of the action verb. 

Do not translate the English word "how"; simply use **sapere** + the infinitive verb.

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The verb to know (sapere)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Past tense of modal verbs

Question	Answer
to know	sapere
nothing	niente
I don't know anything.	Non so niente.
He knows everything, but I know nothing.	Lui sa tutto, ma io non so niente.
the truth	la verità
Do you want to know the truth?	Volete sapere la verità?
We know the truth about Marco.	Sappiamo la verità su Marco.
the answer	la risposta
Do you know the answer?	Sai la risposta?
They don't know the answer to this question.	Non sanno la risposta a questa domanda.
if	se
I don't know if the train is late.	Non so se il treno è in ritardo.
Do you know if Maria is coming to the party?	Sai se Maria viene alla festa?
to swim	nuotare
My brothers don't know how to swim.	I miei fratelli non sanno nuotare.
The child can swim very well.	Il bambino sa nuotare molto bene.
to sing	cantare
My mother can sing well.	Mia madre sa cantare bene.
We do not know how to sing.	Non sappiamo cantare.
to ski	sciare
Do you know how to ski, sir?	Lei sa sciare, signore?
The boys do not know how to ski.	I ragazzi non sanno sciare.
to play (an instrument)	suonare
the piano	il pianoforte
Do you know how to play the piano?	Sai suonare il pianoforte?
My father doesn't know how to cook.	Mio padre non sa cucinare.
the language	la lingua
How many languages do you know?	Quante lingue sai?
The teacher knows four languages.	L'insegnante sa quattro lingue.
Do you know where Anna lives?	Sai dove abita Anna?
We don't know who this gentleman is.	Non sappiamo chi è questo signore.
My brother knows how to play the piano well.	Mio fratello sa suonare bene il pianoforte.
to think	pensare
I think about my mother.	Penso a mia madre.
I think so.	Penso di sì.
I am not thinking about anything.	Non penso a niente.
to believe	credere
I believe my father.	Credo a mio padre.
I don't think so.	Credo di no.
I don't believe this boy.	Non credo a questo ragazzo.

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