unfamiliar with this use of Sí

Question

I have to translate a few sentences for my Spanish homework and one is giving me trouble.

The phrase is: Ese viejo sí sabe relatar una historia.

The way I would translate it without sí would be, "That old man knows how to tell a story."

I understand all the words but I don't get what sí is supposed to mean in this context. I looked in the dictionary but it's still not to clear. Could anyone tell me what this sentence means and the grammatical concept I am missing when it comes to sí.

Thanks

Answer 1

It basically adds emphasis. So the sí would change the meaning to "That old man really knows how to tell a story." Or "that old man really does know how to tell a story"

Correct! - rpem, Oct 11, 2011

Answer 2

"That old man indeed knows how to tell a story."

Answer 3

I think "sí" is used for emphasis in this context: That old man really knows how to tell a story."

Answer 4

My guess:

That old man really knows how to tell a story.

Great Translation:) That;s exactly how I would have said it :) I worked it out before looking at the responses but You beat me to it Lorenzo :) - FELIZ77, Oct 11, 2011

Answer 5

As mentioned earlier, sí can be used in cases where you have an affirmative statement, just like yours. It just just adds emphasis and can be translated in many ways, such as indeed, really, definitely, certainly, etc, etc.