Pads Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 what is the difference between these two, is it Savoir = to know some thing and Connaitre = to know a person ? although this dosnt fit in with all that im doing ,so is there another difference? Thankyou [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Hi Pads... just doing my homework and needed to look that up too... I found this... not sure if it helps? [:D]http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa011500.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pads Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 Thanks rose that does help .............[blink] until i ty to use it .........In this sentance then I would use connaitre yes/no ?car c'est un pays qu'ils ne connait pas du tout because its a country they dont know at all. Does that look right ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWINKLE Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 car c'est un pays qu'ils ne connaissent pas du tout Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Zoff Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 In simple terms, I tend to go by Savoir meaning to know something or how to do something and Connaitre to be familiar with someone or something.So I agree with the verb you have used, if not the matching of a plural pronoun with a singular verb ending.Where's Frenchie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pads Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 woops mised the they there didnt I? [:$] so it deffo the C word not the S word then? Ta very much girls [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pads Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 heres another sais -tu quand ils vont y aller ?You know when they will go there?I think sais , or does any one think connais ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 [quote user="Pads"]heres another sais -tu quand ils vont y aller ?You know when there will go there?I think sais , or does any one think connais ? [/quote]Alan's tip is right. So yes, you are correct. But I would never say sais-tu because it sounds horrible (although it's a personal thing, really). Est-ce que tu sais... is rather better, or in conversation tu sais and raise the tone slightly at the end so that it's obviously a question, imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pads Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 Im translating whats there already and filling in the savoir or connaitre gaps , but I see what you mean .thankyou[:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pads Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 just checking another , to see if im getting this !![:$]est-ce qu'ils connaissent des gens en angleterre ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 [quote user="Pads"]just checking another , to see if im getting this !![:$]est-ce qu'ils connaissent des gens en angleterre ?[/quote]Yup, imo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I asked the same question once:http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/702895/ShowPost.aspx Hope it helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allanb Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 To remember the difference, it may help to know (savoir) that "savoir" also means "to be able to" do something, in the sense of knowing how:Il ne sait pas nager = he can't swim (because he never learned)- as opposed to -Il ne peut pas nager = he can't swim (because there's ice on the pool) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pads Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 Thanks everyone for your help on this one [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crépuscule Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I thought the link to france.about.com was good until I tried the test! I re-read the explanations then re-did the test & did much better the second time (too modest to give the score!) The situations that confuse me are when it's either "being familiar with something" which is connaitre or "knowing a fact" which is savoir. I have convinced myself that you can use both in the same sentence, e.g. "Je connais les paroles de La Marseillaise mais je ne les sais pas." i.e. "I am familiar with the words of La Marseillasie but I don't know them (by heart)." Is this acceptable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pads Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 Im no expert, in fact im rubbish ............[:(] But shouldnt the first one be sais too ? I dunno ...................[:$] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DZ Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Hi PadsThe latest issue of the French Accent magazine covers the topic of savoir/connaitre in detail - I would wholeheartedly recommend it. The electronic magazine is not free any more (it used to be), but it is very much worth the small subscription fee in my humble opinion.Best wishes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bones Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 [quote user="crépuscule"]I thought the link to france.about.com was good until I tried the test! I re-read the explanations then re-did the test & did much better the second time (too modest to give the score!) The situations that confuse me are when it's either "being familiar with something" which is connaitre or "knowing a fact" which is savoir. I have convinced myself that you can use both in the same sentence, e.g. "Je connais les paroles de La Marseillaise mais je ne les sais pas." i.e. "I am familiar with the words of La Marseillasie but I don't know them (by heart)." Is this acceptable?[/quote]It wouldn't work in English, as you pointed out you'd have to add "by heart", you'd probably do the same in French if you used your example (employing the literal translation of "by heart").The only sort of exception I can think of is when you hear French people say "Oui, je le sais mais... blah blah blah"; not "je sais" but "je le sais".I think it's like saying "I know all to well", or "I"m aware of the fact". [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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