Savoir vs. Connaître

White L.A2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Savoir vs. Connaître

Tu sais, le célèbre couturier ?  Why is "sais" used rather than "connaiss”? I thought:  Savoir means "to know a fact", while connaître means to know a person or to be familiar with a person, place or thing.  Merci!

Asked 7 months ago
CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi White,

There is a comma after 'tu sais' which means that le célèbre couturier isn't the object of the verb savoir, in this case it is just a throw-away comment -

you know = tu sais 

But you are correct in saying that if there was no comma and the question was -

Do you know the famous designer?

it would indeed be the verb 'connaitre'

Tu connais le célèbre couturier ... ? Do you know the famous designer ...?

Whereas in this case, it is -

you know, the famous designer.

Savoir vs. Connaître

Tu sais, le célèbre couturier ?  Why is "sais" used rather than "connaiss”? I thought:  Savoir means "to know a fact", while connaître means to know a person or to be familiar with a person, place or thing.  Merci!

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