conocimos

Conocimos is the first-person plural form of the Spanish verb conocer in the pretérito indefinido, used to express actions that were completed in the past. It generally corresponds to “we knew” or “we met” in English, depending on the context.

The verb conocer derives from Latin cognoscere, meaning to become acquainted or to learn. In usage, conocimos can indicate the moment of meeting someone for the first time or the act of becoming familiar with something or someone. For example, “Conocimos a la directora en la fiesta” means “We met the director at the party,” while “Conocimos la noticia ayer” conveys “We learned the news yesterday.”

Usage notes: when the action involves meeting a person, Spanish normally uses the prepositional phrase a after the verb, as in “conocimos a María.” In other contexts, such as learning information or becoming aware of something, conocimos conveys that sense of discovery or realization. The meaning can be inferred from context, since conocimos covers both meeting someone and learning about something.

Examples:

Conocimos a Marta en la conferencia.

Ayer conocimos la verdad sobre el caso.

Cuando viajamos, conocimos a varios pensadores importantes.

See also: Conocer, Spanish preterite, Past narration in Spanish.