Preterite or Imperfect? Did you know it?
1
vote
I did not know that(it)
Dirías .......Yo no lo supe o Yo no lo sabía?
¿Qué dirías tú? ¿Y por qué?
1226 views
updated Feb 21, 2013
posted by warrenmarshall
1 Answer
2
votes
The preterit of saber is usually used to imply instant knowlege, many times translated as "i found out". Sabía is much more common for general uses of "I knew".
In your example "no lo supe" would be "at that instant, I didn't know" or "I had not found out".
"No lo sabía" would be more generalized - "I didn't know".
updated Feb 21, 2013
posted by Noetol
Agreed. I always use "no lo sabía!" in this context. - MyHeadAboveWater, Feb 21, 2013
