French Grammar Guide for non-francophones

savoir/connaître

In this section: Description, Questions, Exercises

Questions

Questions about savoir and connaître

Q: Why is it je connais ton frère and NOT je sais ton frère?

The verb connaître is used with before nouns. It means "be familiar with". Basically, if the next word is a determiner (le, la, mon, ma, etc.), then you should probably use connaître.

Q:  Why is it nous savons qu'elle viendra and NOT nous connaissons qu'elle viendra?

Remember, if the following word is que, use savoir.

Q: Why is it Est-ce que tu sais où j'ai mis mes clefs? and NOT Est-ce que tu connais où j'ai mis mes clefs?

Since the question is about knowing a fact (where I put my keys), you should use savoir. In general, if the next word is que, qui, où, comment, quand or si, use savoir).

In this section: Description, Questions, Exercises

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