If you don’t already use it habitually, soler is a very useful Spanish verb worth bringing into your active vocabulary.
In the present indicative, soler, like poder or volver, changes its root in all persons other than the first and second persons plural, giving us the following forms:
suelo
sueles
suele
solemos
soléis
suelen
In the present tense you use soler followed by an infinitive to talk about things you or others are in the habit of doing or usually do. For example, for I usually get up early, you could say Suelo levantarme temprano. And here are some more examples:
Suele tomar té verde.
He usually has green tea.
No suelo desayunar.
I don’t usually have breakfast.
¿Sueles trabajar de noche?
Do you normally work at night?
You could use normalmente or generalmente with a present tense instead (Generalmente or Normalmente me levanto temprano, for example), but using soler sounds very natural and idiomatic.
Additionally, you use soler to talk about things that tend to happen, frequently happen or usually happen:
Los síntomas suelen desaparecer con el reposo.
The symptoms usually disappear with rest.
Hoy en día, el término suele considerarse ofensivo.
Nowadays, the term is usually considered ortends to be considered offensive.
En estos locales no suelen servirse bebidas alcohólicas.
Alcoholic drinks aren’t usually served in these establishments.
Soler isn’t used only in the present. You can use it in the imperfect (again followed by a verb in the infinitive) to talk about things you or others habitually did in the past – things you used to do (but don’t do now). For example, for He used to spend the holidays in Figueres, you could say Solía pasar las vacaciones en Figueres. And here are some other examples:
Pues yo solía ir allí todos los días.
Well I used to go there every day.
No solía escuchar música contemporánea.
He didn’t use to orHe used not to listen to contemporary music.
No solían interactuar mucho con sus vecinos.
They didn’t use to orThey used not to interact much with their neighbours.
¿Cómo era esa frase que solías decir?
What was that phrase you used to say?
Recuerda cómo su padre solía tocar la guitarra cada Nochebuena.
She remembers how her father used to play orwould play the guitar every Christmas Eve.
So when do you use soler in the imperfect + INFINITIVE rather than another verb in the imperfect to describe things that used to go on?
Compare:
Su madre solía hacer las compras todos los días.
Her mother used to do orwould do the shopping every day.
Su madre hacía las compras todos los días.
Her mother used to do orwould do or did the shopping every day.
In the above,solía emphasizes that her mother was in the habit of shopping every day or frequently shopped every day, while hacía las compras is factual: she shopped every day.
Here are some key cases where you’d use normally use the imperfect without soler:
- to talk about dependably regular activities:
Cada semana recibía una carta de su familia.
Every week he would receive orhe used to receive orhe received a letter from his family.
- to describe states:
Cuando era pequeño tenía el pelo rubio.
When he was little he had or he used to have fair hair.
En su juventud era pobre.
In her youth she was or she used to be poor.
PRACTICE
Can you complete the following using soler or not as appropriate?
- Las regiones montañosas …………………………. ventosas y muy frías.
Mountain regions are usually or tend to be windy and very cold. - Estos gatos …………………………. de los humanos.
These cats tend to orusually hide from humans. - No …………………………. nada de la naturaleza cuando era joven.
I used not to know anything about nature when I was young. - …………………………. en el número 29.
We used to live at number 29. - Los investigadores en este campo …………………………. médicos.
Researchers in this field tend to be doctors. - …………………………. versos sobre las elecciones.
He used to write or He frequently wrote verses about the elections. - En mi juventud, …………………………. en el campo.
In my youth, I used to live or I lived in the country. - Estos cuchillos …………………………. para cortar carne.
These knives are usually used to cut meat. - El herrero …………………………. la figura más poderosa del pueblo.
The blacksmith would often be ortended to be the most powerful person in the village. - Los sábados …………………………. una copa en el Bar Texas.
On Saturdays I would often have a drink at the Bar Texas.
ANSWERS
- Las regiones montañosas suelen ser ventosas y muy frías.
Mountain regions are usually or tend to be windy and very cold. - Estos gatos suelen esconderse de los humanos.
These cats tend to or usually hide from humans. - No sabía nada de la naturaleza cuando era joven.
I used not to know anything about nature when I was young. - Vivíamos en el número 29.
We used to live at number 29. - Los investigadores en este campo suelen ser médicos.
Researchers in this field tend to be doctors. - Solía escribir versos sobre las elecciones.
He used to write or He frequently wrote verses about the elections. - En mi juventud, vivía en el campo.
In my youth, I used to live orI lived in the country. - Estos cuchillos suelen utilizarse or ser utilizados para cortar carne
s.
These knives are usually used to cut meat. - El herrero solía ser la figura más poderosa del pueblo.
The blacksmith would often be ortended to be the most powerful person in the village. - Los sábados solía tomar una copa en el Bar Texas.
On Saturdays I would often have a drink at the Bar Texas.
For more hints and tips on Spanish usage, come back next week.
