Te conozco mosco (among Colombian people, this expression is used to tell someone you know him/her very well): el verbo conocer (to know).
The verb ‘’conocer’’ is one of the most used verbs in the Spanish language. However, its use is different, as long as to know can mean weather to have the knowledge about something or someone about something or someone, the verb conocer has only one of these meanings. In English, we just have the verb to know but in Spanish, we have 2 verbs; ‘’saber’’ and ‘’conocer’’.
Additionally, we use the verb “meet” when we met a person for the first time in English. However, in Spanish we use the verb “conocer”, no matter if it is for the first time or not.
Today, we will focus on the verb conocer.
Let’s see!
Before you continue reading, remember:
- “You” is only one pronoun, which have different meanings. However, in Spanish we have 3 important pronouns: tu, usted, ustedes. Tu is used when you have confidence with the person you are talking to, usted is a more formal and ustedes is used to talk about more than one person we are directing to.
- In Spanish, we have unspoken subjects, so it is not needed to use a pronoun every time as we do in English.
- We use written accents in Spanish, be careful. On the opposite, you will have miscommunication problems in your writing.
Conocer Conjugation
Read the following examples:
- Yo conozco un lugar hermoso/ conocí un lugar hermoso/ conocía un lugar hermoso/ conoceré un lugar hermoso/ conocería un lugar hermoso.
– (I know a beautiful place/ I knew a beautiful place/ I knew a beautiful place/ I will know a beautiful place/ I would know a beautiful place). - Tu conoces a mi madre /conociste a mi madre/ conocías a mi madre/ conocerás a mi madre/ conocerías a mi madre.
– (You know my mother/ you knew my mother/ you knew my mother/ you will know my mother/ you would know my mother). - Él conoce al director/ usted conoció al director/ ella conocía al director/ conocerá al director/ conocería al director.
– (He knows the director/ you knew the director/ she knew the director/ will know the director/ would know the director). - Nosotros conocemos la universidad/ conocimos la universidad/ conocíamos la universidad/ conoceremos la universidad/ conoceríamos la universidad.
– (We know the university/ we knew the university/ we knew the university/ we will know the university/ we would know the university). - Ustedes conocen el proyecto/ ellos conocieron el proyecto/ ellas conocían el proyecto/ conocerán el proyecto/ conocerían el proyecto. – You know the project/ they knew the project/ they knew the project/ they will know the project/ they would know the project.
The Indicative Mood
These are some examples of phrases in the indicative mood of verb ‘’conocer’’. Do you recognize the tenses they are written in?
| Subject | Present | Perfect Preterit (past) | Imperfect preterit (past) | Future simple | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yo (I) | Conozco | Conocí | Conocía | Conoceré | Conocería |
| Tu (you) | Conoces | Conociste | Conocías | Conocerás | Conocerías |
| Él (he)/ella (she) /usted | Conoce | Conoció | Conocía | Conocerá | Conocería |
| Nosotros (we) | Conocemos | Conocimos | Conocíamos | Conoceremos | Conoceríamos |
| Ustedes (you: plural)/ellos (They: masculine) /ellas (They: feminine) | Conocen | Conocieron | Conocían | Conocerán | Conocerían |
Analyze the next chart and review the examples again.
We use present to talk about something we currently know: Conozco un lugar hermoso. (I know about a beautiful place).
We use perfect preterit to talk about actions that started in the past and finished in a determinate time: Conociste a mi madre ayer – (You met my mother yesterday).
We use imperfect preterit to talk about actions that started in the past, but they didn’t finish in a determinate time: Ella conocía al director – (She knew the director).
We use future simple to talk about actions or situations that will surely happen in a future time: Conoceremos el proyecto – (We will know the proyect).
We use the simple conditional tense to talk about a situation that probably will happen: Ellas conocerían la Universidad antes de postularse – (They would know the university before postulate).
| Subject | Compounded Perfect Preterit (Present Perfect) | Pluperfect (Past Perfect) | Perfect Future | Perfect Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yo (I) | He conocido | Había conocido | Habré conocido | Habría conocido |
| Tu (you) | Has conocido | Habías conocido | Habrás conocido | Habrías conocido |
| Él (he)/ella (she) /usted | Ha conocido | Había conocido | Habrá conocido | Habría conocido |
| Nosotros (we) | Hemos conocido | Habíamos conocido | Habremos conocido | Habríamos conocido |
| Ustedes (you: plural)/ellos (They: masculine) /ellas (They: feminine) | Han conocido | Habían conocido | Habrán conocido | Habrían conocido |
Did you know perfect tenses exist in Spanish too? Let’s see some of the most used tenses of the indicative mood.
We build compounded tenses using the verb ‘’HABER’’ (HAVE) and the past participle of the main verb, in this case conocer: conocido.
We use the compounded perfect preterit to talk about actions that started in a determinate time in the past, but they have not ended in the present: He conocido muchas personas desde enero (I have met many people since January.).
We use the pluperfect to talk about actions that were developed in the past before an action in the past which we had talked about before: Cuando nos encontramos, ya lo habíamos conocido (When we met, we had already met him.).
We use the perfect future to talk about actions that will already be developed in a given time: a final de año, habrás conocido muchas personas nuevas (By the end of the year, you will have met many new people.).
We use perfect conditional to talk about actions that probably would have happened, but they didn’t happen, these phrases are usually after another one that introduced it: Si el taxi no hubiera tardado, habría conocido al cantante (If the taxi hadn’t been late, I would have met the actor.).
In Spanish, we also have two other verbal moods: the subjunctive and the imperative mood.
Common forms of the Subjunctive Mood
| Subject | Present | Imperfect Preterit | Pluperfect | Perfect Preterit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yo (I) | Conozca | Conociera | Hubiera conocido | Haya conocido |
| Tu (you) | Conozcas | Conocieras | Hubieras conocido | Hayas conocido |
| Él (he)/ella (she) /usted | Conozca | Conociera | Hubiera conocido | Haya conocido |
| Nosotros (we) | Conozcamos | Conociéramos | Hubiéramos conocido | Hayamos conocido |
| Ustedes (you: plural)/ellos (They: masculine) /ellas (They: feminine) | Conozcan | Conocieran | Hubieran conocido | Hayan conocido |
Subjunctive is typically used to express wishes, wants and hopes. And it is usually introduced by the words like que, ojalá, espero (que), si…, cuando.
The present form is used to express a wish that we would like to happen in the present: Cuando lo conozca, le pediré un autografo – (When I meet him, I will ask him for a sign.).
The imperfect preterit form to express a wish about something that hypothetically could happen: Ojalá lo conocieras – (If only you knew him.).
The pluperfect is used to express a wish that we would like it had happened in a past situation: Si lo hubieras conocido, no dirías esto (If you had met him, you wouldn’t say that.).
The perfect preterit form is used to express a wish about something it happens in the past but in some cases, is used to talk about a hope we have in the future: Cuando lo hayas conocido, lo amarás (When you meet him, you will love him.).
Let’s review the Imperative Mood:
The imperative mode is generally used to give orders, advices or instructions. This mode has no tenses, and it has only one conjugation. It is also used just with certain pronouns.
| Subject | Imperative |
|---|---|
| Tu (you) | Conoce |
| Nosotros (we) | Conozcamos |
| Ustedes (you: plural)/ellos (They: masculine) /ellas (They: feminine) | Conozcan |
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| first, meet him | Conócelo primero |
| let’s meet the director | Conozcamos al director |
| know the rules and avoid problems | Conozcan las reglas y eviten problemas |
Spanish Verb Conocer – Quiz/Worksheet
1. Espero que lo _______ mañana.
2. Yo te ________ en la fiesta el fin de semana.
3. Ella _________ el proyecto desde el lunes.
4. Nosotros __________ muchos famosos.
5. Nos ________ el semestre pasado.
6. Ojalá ______ ______ al jefe esta mañana.
7. Nosotros ___________ muchas personas el domingo próximo.
8. Cuando me _____ ________, cambiarás de opinión.
9. Ella lo _______ si estuviera en la fiesta.
10. Ya te ______ ________ antes de trabajar juntos.
Answers:
1. Conozcas
2. Conocí
3. Conocía
4. Conocemos
5. Conocimos
6. Hubieras conocido
7. Conoceremos
8. Hayas conocido
9. Conocería
10. Había conocido.
About the Author:
Specializations: Spanish Tutors on Skype
Bio: I am Julio Martinez, I have studied a bachelor’s degree in language teaching since 2019, and I am close to get graduated. I have work as English teacher in some institutions in Colombia, I have also worked as tutor supporting some students to improve their Spanish levels and as tutor for personalized French classes. By the same way, I speak not only Spanish and English but also French and Portuguese, I have been participating in a research group of language teaching for people with difficulties. As well as, I have participated in different seminars of different institutions and Universities in the field of languages teaching.
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