Second last question is to translate the following into French :
"but I know my lesson by heart"
I answered:"mais je sais ma leçon par cœur"
I was marked incorrect for using savoir instead of connaître.
Referring to a comment made by Cecile in a separate discussion, she states that savoir is the instinctive verb that the French would use when using "par cœur" as it indicates that you know the lesson for sure....
What am I missing?
if you can replace "know" with "be familiar with" or "be acquainted with" then use connaître, otherwise use savoir.
Yes I understand the differences, but I was more interested to know why my answer was marked wrong when it corresponds with Céciles comment about 'savoir' being the most common verb to be used in this instance.
Hi G,
Could you send me a link to the previous answer you are referring to for me to answer?
Hi Cécile
Sorry I missed your response. I'm not exactly sure what you want me to link to?
My query related to a question in a free writing exercise entitled "In science class" where I was marked wrong for using savoir instead of connaître.
Your comment that I referred to was in a separate discussion somewhere.
I can find your response but not the forum it was posted in. Here it is: -
Connaitre ou Savoirfrequently asked question
Hi william,
Having consulted with some French compatriots living in France, we do agree that 'savoir' here is the instinctive verb we would use in both the examples you quote.
However, it is true that 'connaître' would be acceptable but 'savoir' is better perhaps because of the 'par cœur'which indicate that you know the text and the lesson for sure...
Hi G,
Sorry about the delay in answering your last query. The 'savoir par cœur' has been added after discussion between the native French speakers on the team.
It is a bit of an oddity as you can use either verb to say that you know something you have been studying by heart.
If you are talking about a person, and you want to convey that you know them so well that you can predict how they are going to behave you will use -
connaître par cœur and only connaître
Je savais que tu allais venir, je te connais par cœur! = I knew you would come, I know you so well!
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