What kind of knowledge informs the practice of English teachers? Recent policy developments, in England and elsewhere, have sought to specify a knowledge base for teachers. Drawing on case studies produced by pre-service English teachers, this essay explores the complex, multifaceted and situated character of the knowledge that teachers develop in and through their practice. It questions the utility of 'knowledge' as the overarching term for the development of attitudes, capacities and sensitivities that are always relational.