The Spanish Verb Soler

The Spanish verb soler is used to talk about things that you usually do, such as habits or hobbies. It is always used together with another verb in infinitive that will actually describe the action, hobby or habit. In this article, we are going to learn its usage and conjugation forms. Notice that the Spanish verb soler is not conjugated in all tenses.

The Spanish verb soler is mainly used in Spain. In Latin America, they tend to use acostumbrar with or without the preposition a.

Yo suelo pasear por el parque con mi perro. (ES)

Yo acostumbro (a) pasear por el parque con mi perro. (LatAm)

I usually have a walk in the park with my dog.

Soler means to usually do something, so it can only be used it in the present and imperfect tenses, both indicative and subjunctive. Now let’s see its conjugation and some example sentences.

The Spanish Verb Soler in Indicative

Soler is a bit irregular in the present tense.

	Present
yo tú él nosotros vosotros ellos	suelo sueles suele solemos soléis suelen

Present Indicative

Yo suelo comer lentejas en invierno.

I usually eat lentils in winter.

Ella suele ir a correr muy temprano.

She usually goes running very early.

Mis hijos suelen esconder los juguetes debajo del sofá.

My children usually hide their toys under the couch.

	Imperfect
yo tú él nosotros vosotros ellos	solía solías solía solíamos solíais solían

Imperfect Indicative

El gatito solía subirse a la antena.

The kitten used to climb to the aerial.

Antes éramos pastores y solíamos contar historias sobre lobos.

We were shepherds before and used to tell stories about wolves.

Los perros del inquilino solían ladrar por la noche.

The dogs of the tenant used to bark at night.

It is common among English speakers to overuse the verb soler to describe habitual states or actions in the past, when the Imperfect tense is preferred in most cases.

Nosotros quedábamos a las cinco todos los días.

Nosotros solíamos quedar a las cinco todos los días.

We used to meet at five o’clock every day.

These two sentences are somehow synonyms. However, when you use the verb soler, you are emphasizing the fact that it was an habitual action and normally it is used when later in the conversation an exception or interruption appears.

Nosotros solíamos quedar a las cinco todos los días, pero algunos días no fue posible.

We used to meet at five o’clock every day, but some days it wasn’t possible.

The Spanish Verb Soler in Subjunctive

You will find the same stem changes in the present subjunctive conjugation.

	Present
yo tú él nosotros vosotros ellos	suela suelas suela solamos soláis suelan

Present Subjunctive

No es un estilo que suela llevar, pero creo que me favorece.

It is a style you normally wear, but I think that suits me.

¿Me decís más platos de otras culturas que soláis comer?

Would you tell me more other cultures dishes that do you usually eat?

No creo que tus alumnos suelan leer cómics en clase.

I don’t think your students usually read comics in class.

	Imperfect (1)	Imperfect (2)
yo tú él nosotros vosotros ellos	soliera solieras soliera soliéramos solierais solieran	soliese solieses soliese soliésemos solieseis soliesen

The Imperfect subjunctive has two forms. You can use any of them since both are correct.

Nunca dudé de que Ana soliera hablar italiano en casa. Su marido era de Roma.

Nunca dudé de que Ana soliese hablar italiano en casa. Su marido era de Roma.

I never doubted that Ana used to speak Italian at home. Her husband was from Rome.

Si soliéramos estar fuera los viernes, os lo hubiéramos dicho.

Si soliésemos estar fuera los viernes, os lo hubiéramos dicho.

If we were usually out on Fridays, we would have let you know.

Me sorprendió que los cachorros solieran dormir todo el día.

Me sorprendió que los cachorros soliesen dormir todo el día.

I was surprised the cubs used to sleep the entire day.

Exercises

Let’s practice the forms of the Spanish verb soler.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Categorized in:

Verbs Grammar Vocabulary

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