savoir
to know (a fact)Irregularਇਹ ਕਿਰਿਆ ਨਿਯਮ ਨਹੀਂ ਮੰਨਦੀ — ਹਰ ਰੂਪ ਵੱਖਰਾ ਯਾਦ ਕਰਨਾ ਪੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ।
| Person | Presentnow, habits | Passé composécompleted past | Imparfaitongoing past | Futur procheabout to | Futur simplewill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | saissounds the same as another form in this tense | ai su | savaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vais savoir | sauraisounds the same as another form in this tense |
| tu | saissounds the same as another form in this tense | as susounds the same as another form in this tense | savaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vas savoirsounds the same as another form in this tense | saurassounds the same as another form in this tense |
| il/elle | saitsounds the same as another form in this tense | a susounds the same as another form in this tense | savaitsounds the same as another form in this tense | va savoirsounds the same as another form in this tense | saurasounds the same as another form in this tense |
| nous | savons | avons su | savions | allons savoir | sauronssounds the same as another form in this tense |
| vous | savez | avez su | saviez | allez savoir | saurezsounds the same as another form in this tense |
| ils/elles | savent | ont su | savaientsounds the same as another form in this tense | vont savoir | saurontsounds the same as another form in this tense |
Now, and habits. sais covers both "I know (a fact)" and "I am know (a fact)ing" — French has no separate continuous form.
A completed past action. avoir conjugates and su does not — ai su.
An ongoing or habitual past. Built on the nous-present stem, so savons gives you savais.
About to happen. aller conjugates; savoir never moves — the easier future to produce under pressure.
Will happen. Built on saur- — not the infinitive savoir. The conditional reuses this stem.
Three more forms worth knowing
Not among the five TEF/TCF-scored tenses above, but common past A1–A2.
Passé récentjust happened
| je | viens de savoir |
|---|---|
| tu | viens de savoir |
| il/elle | vient de savoir |
| nous | venons de savoir |
| vous | venez de savoir |
| ils/elles | viennent de savoir |
Impératifcommands — no je/il/ils form
| tu | sache |
|---|---|
| nous | sachons |
| vous | sachez |
Gérondifwhile doing — one invariant form
en sachant
What this table tells you about savoir
The past participle is su, and it takes avoir in the passé composé — so it never changes shape, whoever the subject is. No agreement to remember here.
The futur simple is built on saur-, which is not the infinitive savoir. This stem has to be learned, and it is the same one the conditional uses later.
In the present, je, tu and il/elle are one sound: sais, sait — indistinguishable spoken. Only nous, vous and ils/elles carry an audible ending.
The imparfait is built on the nous-present stem, so once you know savons you already know savais, savait and savaient. Futur proche keeps savoir untouched.
Worth knowing about savoir
In passé composé, savoir emphasizes discovering or finding out something—j'ai su means 'I found out' or 'I learned,' expressing sudden knowledge rather than mere possession of information.
The future stem is irregular: saurai (from stem saur-, not from savoir); other tenses follow regular patterns.
J'ai su la vérité hier soir.
I found out the truth last night.
ਮੈਨੂੰ ਕੱਲ੍ਹ ਰਾਤ ਸੱਚਾਈ ਦਾ ਪਤਾ ਲੱਗਾ।