Breakdown of Ustedes cantan muy bien, pero no conocen esa canción.
pero
but
no
no, not
ustedes
you (plural)
cantar
to sing
esa
that (feminine)
muy
very
bien
well
conocer
to know (people, places)
la canción
the song
Questions & Answers about Ustedes cantan muy bien, pero no conocen esa canción.
Why do we use conocen here instead of saben to say "you don't know"?
We use a form of conocer when we talk about being familiar with a person, place, or thing—like a book, a movie, or a song. Saber is used for knowing facts, information, or knowing how to do a skill. Since the sentence is about being familiar with a specific piece of music, conocen is the perfect choice.
Since the sentence involves a skill (singing), shouldn't we use saber somewhere?
You would use saber if you wanted to say "you know how to sing" (ustedes saben cantar). However, this sentence simply states the fact that you all currently sing very well (cantan muy bien). The only "knowing" happening in this sentence is being familiar with a specific song, which requires conocer.
Why is the word for "that" esa instead of ese?
In Spanish, almost all nouns that end in -ción (like canción) are feminine. Because canción is a feminine noun, we have to use the feminine word for "that," which is esa.
Why do we use bien instead of bueno here?
Is it required to include ustedes at the beginning of the sentence?
No, it is optional! You could just say Cantan muy bien... and people would usually understand who you mean from the conversation's context. Including ustedes ("you all") just makes it perfectly clear that you are talking directly to a group of people, rather than saying "they sing very well," because "they" also uses the verb form cantan.
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