LingoflySkilled, able, acquainted: saber, poder, conocer and se me da bien
English 'can' covers both skill and opportunity; Spanish splits them. Saber is skill, something learned: sé nadar, sé conducir. Poder is being able right now: hoy no puedo conducir, he bebido. For example: “Sé conducir, pero hoy no puedo: no tengo el carné aquí” — I can drive, but not today: I do not have my licence with me. A rule from the Spanish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English 'can' covers both skill and opportunity; Spanish splits them. Saber is skill, something learned: sé nadar, sé conducir. Poder is being able right now: hoy no puedo conducir, he bebido.
So no puedo nadar means 'not today', while no sé nadar means 'I never learned'.
A third verb, conocer, is about acquaintance with a person, a city or a book: conozco Madrid, conozco a su hermana. Saber is about information: sé dónde vive, sé la respuesta. Sé a tu hermana is simply wrong.
In conversation 'I'm good at' comes out as se me da bien. It works like gustar: se me dan bien los idiomas is plural after the languages. The opposite is se me da mal, and for difficulty there is me cuesta.
Table
| meaning | verb | example | subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| skilled, trained | saber | sé nadar | I |
| able right now | poder | hoy no puedo | I |
| acquainted with | conocer | conozco Madrid | I |
| know a fact | saber | sé dónde vive | I |
| comes easily to me | se me da bien | se me dan bien los idiomas | the languages |
| I find hard | me cuesta | me cuestan los verbos | the verbs |
| how long so far | llevar + gerund | llevo dos años estudiando | I |
By example
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Saber vs conocer?
A third verb, conocer, is about acquaintance with a person, a city or a book: conozco Madrid, conozco a su hermana. Saber is about information: sé dónde vive, sé la respuesta. Sé a tu hermana is simply wrong.
No sé nadar or no puedo nadar?
English 'can' covers both skill and opportunity; Spanish splits them. Saber is skill, something learned: sé nadar, sé conducir. Poder is being able right now: hoy no puedo conducir, he bebido.
What se me da bien means?
In conversation 'I'm good at' comes out as se me da bien. It works like gustar: se me dan bien los idiomas is plural after the languages. The opposite is se me da mal, and for difficulty there is me cuesta.
Saber or poder?
English 'can' covers both skill and opportunity; Spanish splits them. Saber is skill, something learned: sé nadar, sé conducir. Poder is being able right now: hoy no puedo conducir, he bebido.
How to say it comes easily to me in Spanish?
In conversation 'I'm good at' comes out as se me da bien. It works like gustar: se me dan bien los idiomas is plural after the languages. The opposite is se me da mal, and for difficulty there is me cuesta.
What does it look like in a Spanish example sentence?
“Sé conducir, pero hoy no puedo: no tengo el carné aquí” — I can drive, but not today: I do not have my licence with me. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.