Question 1

Why is sabía used here instead of the preterite supe?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, the verb saber changes meaning slightly depending on the past tense you use. The imperfect sabía describes an ongoing state in the past, meaning "knew" (or "didn't know"). If you used the preterite no supe, it would sound like a sudden event, meaning "I didn't find out" or "I didn't realize".

Question 2

Why is there a lo in this sentence when the English translation just says "I didn't know"?

Accepted Answer

English often drops the "it" in phrases like "I didn't know", but Spanish usually requires a direct object pronoun to refer back to the information being discussed. The lo stands in for that information (I didn't know it). Saying just no sabía can sometimes sound incomplete in Spanish.

Question 3

Since sabía can mean "I knew" or "he/she knew," how do we know it means "I" here?

Accepted Answer

The imperfect tense forms for yo and él/ella/usted are identical for all verbs. Without a subject pronoun like yo, you have to rely entirely on the context of the conversation. If there were any risk of confusion, the speaker would simply add the pronoun: Yo de verdad no lo sabía.

Question 4

Could I use realmente instead of de verdad here?

Accepted Answer

Yes, realmente no lo sabía means the exact same thing and is perfectly natural. De verdad is just a very common phrase that literally means "of truth" and is used exactly like "really" or "truly" to add emphasis.

De verdad no lo sabía.

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