La Palabra del Día: "Soler"

Question

Soler:

to be used to; to be accustomed to, to be in the habit of

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Use today's Word of the Day in your own Spanish and English sentences. Try to use the word in a completely new way and vote on the sentences you like best. The sentence with the most votes will be crowned the Word of the Day winner!

Guidelines:

• Write sentences at least 5 words long, but don't write a paragraph either.
• Write your Spanish sentence, but include the English translation as well.
• Make the corrections suggested by other users and moderators in the comments section (try not to use personal pronouns unless absolutely necessary).
• Use your own words! (Don't use a translator, copy from a book, use song lyrics, etc.)
• Have fun experimenting with Spanish!

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My examples

1: Solía ir todos los inviernos a Colorado para esquiar.

I used to go to Colorado every winter to ski.

2: Suele llamarme cada mañana a las nueve.

She usually calls me every morning at nine o'clock.

• Isn't this word "soler" to be used as in the present tense here? Doesn't it have different meanings when used in the past tense? - rac1 Feb 21, 2012
• Yes, you are right, rac1! Read the dictionary entry for more examples on the differences in present and past: http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/soler - Paralee Feb 21, 2012

Answer 1

Cuando éramos niños mis hermanos y yo solíamos recoger gatitos de la calle pero llenamos la casa de muchos gatitos y ya no pudimos mantener más mascotas. Sólo nos quedamos con 6.

When we were children, my brothers and I used to get kittens from the streets but we filled my parent's house with kittens and we could not feed more pets. We just kept 6 of them.

• Good for you. - Leatha Feb 21, 2012
• Nice sentences. "...but we filled my...... more pets. We just..... - katydew Feb 21, 2012
• Gato precioso:) - Jraider Feb 22, 2012
• In the imperfect, "éramos" has an accent on the E. It would also be good to have that last phrase as its own sentence. "...mascotas. Sólo nos..." Same in English. - Paralee Feb 22, 2012

Answer 2

Solemos ir al cine los sábados.

We usually go to the cinema on Saturday.

• This is correct, but it sounds funny to me. I think would say "los sábados." - Paralee Feb 22, 2012
• Thank you so much! - rac1 Feb 22, 2012

Answer 3

Cuando era una estudiante, solía trabajar noches trabajar de noche; ahora trabajo días.

When I was a student, I used to work nights; now I work days.

• Great job! When referring to your profession (which being a student falls under), you don't need the article. "Cuando era estudiante..." Also, "to work nights/days" is "trabajar de noche/día" - Paralee Feb 22, 2012
• Thanks for the explanation Paralee. It really helps us beginners. - Maria-Russel Feb 22, 2012

Answer 4

Solía patinar sobre hielo a en nuestro estanque de la finca y me puse llevaba los patines azul claros con piel gris al parte superior.

I used to ice skate on our farm pond and wore light blue skates with gray fur at the top.

• "en" is better than "a" here. And since you are telling a story about the past without specific timing, use the imperfect for "wore" with the verb "llevar" - Paralee Feb 22, 2012
• Great picture too! - Paralee Feb 22, 2012
• Katy, nice description of your ice skates! - bandit51jd Feb 22, 2012
• I wasn't sure how to make 'azul claro' plural... was I ok here then? Thanks Bandit - they were my pride and joy but I had to share them with my sisters. - katydew Feb 22, 2012
• Ah, good catch. "Azul claro" is treated as one word, so it would be "azul claros." - Paralee Feb 24, 2012
View 1 more commments >>

Answer 5

Mi abuela solía ir a misa cada día.

My grandmother used to go to mass every day.

• Very good! - Paralee Feb 22, 2012

Answer 6

Solía preguntar muchas cuestiónes antes de estudíar, pero ahora estudio primero.

I used to ask many questions before studying, but now I study first.

• "Preguntas" is a better word for "questions." And good job! - Paralee Feb 22, 2012
• Hmmm, could you elaborate on that? I have seen questions in reference to school work or exams as cuestiones, but preguntas as a more general term. ?? - Lector_Const Feb 22, 2012

Answer 7

Solía amo amarla,pero ella rompío mi corázon.

I used to love her,but she broke my heart.

• Solía amarla, pero ella..... - xtiagox Feb 21, 2012
• Usually, you do not use articles with parts of the body. You could say "me rompió la corazón." And you need some spaces after your commas. Great work! - Paralee Feb 22, 2012

Answer 8

Cuando era más joven, solía de ir a la feria del condado.

When I was younger, I was in the habit of going I used to go to the county fair.

• Hola bandit:) - Jraider Feb 21, 2012
• In the past tense, "soler" means "used to". Also, you don't need "de" as "of" is implied. "solía ir a la feria" = "I used to go to the fair" - Paralee Feb 22, 2012
• I appreciate the information, Paralee, and I hope I did my changes correctly! Muchas gracias! - bandit51jd Feb 22, 2012
• Hola Jraider, I hope the heart is mending! - bandit51jd Feb 22, 2012

Answer 9

I used to have a dog named, Noah. He was the best dog ever. Now I have a dog named Chloe. She's the second best dog ever.

Suelía tener un perro que llamaba, Noah. Era el perro mejor de todos tiempos. Ahora, tengo un perro llamaba, Chloe. Es la perra segundo mejor de todos tiempos.

Noah Gene Benson, RIP

Chloe Marie Benson

• how cute! - rac1 Feb 21, 2012
• "Solía tener un perro..." = "I used to have a dog..." Also, "best dog ever" would be "el mejor perro de todos tiempos". You don't need "me" in front of "tengo" since "tener" shows possession. - Paralee Feb 22, 2012
• Take a look at the article on creating superlatives (http://www.spanishdict.com/topics/show/52) and try to rewrite your last sentence as well. - Paralee Feb 22, 2012
• I have no idea if this is an improvment. Those articles often confuse me. - Leatha Feb 22, 2012

Answer 10

Cuando mis hijos eran jóvenes, solíamos ir de vacaciones en la playa cada verano.

When my children were young, we used to have a holiday at the beach every summer.

• Nice use of the imperfect! You just need a comma after "solíamos" and "young." And "irse" is used to indicate leaving; just "ir" would be good here. Also, "en" is used for "at" when referring to a place. - Paralee Feb 22, 2012
• Gracias - jennysk Feb 23, 2012

Answer 11

Yo solia trabajar mucho, pero desde que nacieron mis hijos ya no lo hago.
I used to work hard, but since they were born and I do my.

• Nice sentences. I used to work a lot, but since my children were born, I don't do this anymore. - katydew Feb 21, 2012
• You don't need the "yo" as most of the time, you don't use personal pronouns in Spanish. And katydew's suggestion is great! - Paralee Feb 22, 2012

Answer 12

Suelo leer un versículo de sabiduria de Proverbios por la mañana.

I usually read a verse of wisdom from Proverbs in the morning.

• Suelo leer un versiculo de proverbios por la manana. No need to put the ''a'' - arajei Feb 21, 2012
• If you are referring to the book of Proverbs, it should be capitalized in Spanish as well. And I agree with arajel, you don't need the "a" before "leer." - Paralee Feb 22, 2012

Answer 13

Cuando era joven, mi tío era un profesor de español a Pepperdine University, y solía preguntarme, "¿Todavía eres monolingüemente minusválido?" When I was young, my uncle was a professor of Spanish at Pepperdine University, and he used to ask me, "Are you still monolingually handicapped?"

• When referring to professions, you don't need the article: "mi tío era profesor." Your uncle sounds like a smart guy! - Paralee Feb 22, 2012
• :) - bandit51jd Feb 22, 2012
• Gracias, Paralee. - mstivers Feb 22, 2012