The Spanish Verb Soler - Describing habits and frequent actions

The Spanish verb soler is both a common and unusual verb, like the verb haber.

Its uniqueness is due to characteristics such as; it is not used in all the conjugated forms and doesn’t have an equivalent verb in English. Instead, it works as an auxiliary verb and is mainly used in Spain.

Learn here how to use and how to conjugate the verb soler in Spanish.

In addition, there are plenty of examples with audios to help you better understand the concepts and to practice your listening skills.

The Basics of the Spanish Verb Soler

DEFINITION BY RAE

• 1. intr. Dicho de un ser vivo: Tener costumbre.
• 2. intr. Dicho de un hecho o de una cosa: Ser frecuente.

TRANSLATION

You can find different translations for soler, being the following the most common ones:

• Usually or normally.
• Be accustomed to.
• Tend to.
• Used to (in the past).
• To be in the habit of.

STRUCTURE

In order to form a sentence including soler, you just need to conjugate the verb and use the infinitive form of the following verb: SOLER + INFINITIVE VERB

Examples

• Suelo cantar. → I usually sing. 
• Suele nadar. → He normally swims. 
• Solía correr. → I used to run.

How to Use the Verb Soler

EXPRESSING HABITS (CUSTOMS)

Examples

• Suelo ir al gimnasio por las mañanas. → I usually go to the gym in the mornings. 
• Ellos suelen comer a las 2 de la tarde. → They usually eat at 2pm.
• Yo solía cantar cuando era pequeña. → I used to sing when I was a child. 

EXPRESSING SOMETHING THAT OCCURS FREQUENTLY

Examples

• En primavera suele llover. → It usually rains in Spring. 
• Suelen cobrar por aparcar. → They usually charge for parking. 

How to Conjugate the Spanish Verb Soler

The verb soler is an irregular verb and it follow the same conjugation as the verb mover. In addition, it is a defective verb because, it isn’t used in all forms. The most common tenses are:

• Indicative: Present, imperfect and preterite perfect (PRET. PERF.).

• Subjunctive (S): Present.

Synonyms of the Verb Soler

What happens if you do not feel like using the verb soler?  You have other options. In reality, you can use other expressions to describe the same meaning as when you use the Spanish verb soler. Here are some expressions:

ACOSTUMBRAR A + INFINITIVE

Example

• ¿Qué acostumbras a comer en un restaurante mejicano? o ¿Qué sueles comer en un restaurante mejicano? → What do you usually eat at a Mexican restaurant? 

ESTAR ACOSTUMBRADO

Example

• Estoy acostumbrado a levantarme pronto o suelo levantarme pronto. → I am used to (accustomed to) getting up early. 

HACER ALGO CON FRECUENCIA

Example

• Corría con frecuencia o solía correr. → I used to run often. 

SER FRECUENTE

Example

• Es frecuente que nieve en invierno o suele nevar en invierno. → It normally snows in winter. 

TENER COSTUMBRE

Example

• Espero que tenga la costumbre de comer comida picante o espero que suela comer comida picante. → I hope he has the habit of eating spicy food. 

Where to Practice

Gap Filling Exercises

• Exercise 1, 2, 3

Conjugations

• Present Tense

Final Thoughts

I hope you are now able to understand better the Spanish verb soler.

I advise you to practice with the examples here and try to make some others on your own.

In addition, I can help you practice with this verb by using it while having a conversation during our online Spanish conversation classes.

Additionally, we can practice in the comment section below by answering the following questions:

• ¿Sueles estudiar español?
• ¿Suele llover mucho en tu ciudad?

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