Join Discordsavais
knew (had information or was aware of something)
Je savais que tu allais dire ça.
I knew you were going to say that.
knew how to (had the ability or skill to do something)
Quand j'étais petit, je savais nager.
When I was little, I could swim.
Notes
GENERAL INFO
savais is the imperfect tense conjugation of the verb *savoir* (to know). It means "I knew," or "you knew,".
USAGE
It describes past knowledge or an ongoing state of knowing. You use it for continuous actions in the past or habitual knowledge.
For example: "Je ne le savais pas" (I didn't know it) or "Tu savais la réponse?" (Did you know the answer?).
TRAPS
Be careful not to confuse savais (imperfect of *savoir* – to know a fact or information) with *connaissais* (imperfect of *connaître* – to be familiar with a person, place, or thing).