Je peux vs je sais

The 2 French verbs we are going to study are related to our abilities, whether they are physical or intellectual. The ambiguity comes from the fact that in English we use "can" instead of  “ to know how to do something”. 

What is the difference between POUVOIR and SAVOIR?

The 2 verbs are irregular, hence they belong to the third group. Both of them have the same stem with the pronouns “nous” and “vous” (with SAVOIR, the pronouns “ils” and “elles” have the same stem too.

Check out the conjugations of each one:

SAVOIR

• Je sais
• Tu sais
• Il / elle sait
• Nous savons
• Vous savez
• Ils / elles savent

POUVOIR

• Je peux
• Tu peux
• Il / elle peut
• Nous pouvons
• Vous pouvez
• Ils / elles peuvent

As far as the meaning is concerned, “pouvoir” refers to your “natural” abilities like breathing, sleeping, talking, eating…but also when you ask for permission.

The verb “savoir” implies knowledge and a learned skill. Basically, you have spent some time and effort to learn how to do something or memorise something. Besides, it indirectly suggests that you have a certain level: are you bad? good? excellent at it?

How do you use the verb POUVOIR in French?

So, we have just seen that the French verb “pouvoir” expresses the idea of capable of doing something naturally. Here’s an illustration:

• Est-ce qu’il peut nager? >>> Can he swim?

Again, it’s something innate for him. He didn’t have to learn it.

What does SAVOIR mean?

Unlike “pouvoir”, the verb “savoir” does require effort. Indeed, you need to learn something in depth, practise, memorise it, put your time and energy in it. In a nutshell, it’s not something natural for you in the beginning. Once you’ve mastered it, you can switch to “pouvoir”.

•   Le chien ne sait pas lire >>> The dog can’t read.

Let’s have another similar example where we acquire a new skill:

As you can see, once you’re a master at something, you can even ditch either verb (pouvoir or savoir) and simply use another verb like “to learn”.

How to distinguish POUVOIR and SAVOIR.

To sum up, these 2 irregular verbs are about with mastering a new skill or knowledge. “Pouvoir” implies that something is natural, whether we were born with it or because we have mastered it so much that it became innate. On the contrary, “savoir” refers to something completely new that we endeavour to acquire. 

POUVOIR:

• to be able
• to have the ability, can

SAVOIR:

• to know how to
• to have greater knowledge of something
• something you can learn to do

My question for you: “Tu peux parler français ou tu sais le français?”