Soler Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

soler means "to usually do, to be in the habit of" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Soler means to usually do something, and it always takes an infinitive: suelo leer, sueles llegar tarde. It is normally used in the present and the imperfect; the other tenses are rare, and it has no real imperative in everyday use. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of soler; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the soler preterite tense page.

soler in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo suelo leer por la noche — "I usually read at night"
  2. Mi amigo suele desayunar a las ocho — "My friend usually have breakfast at eight"
  3. Mañana, tú solerás llegar tarde los lunes — "Tomorrow, you will usually arrive late on Mondays"
  4. Yo solería caminar al trabajo si pudiera — "I would usually walk to work if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo solí leer por la noche — "Yesterday, I used to read at night"
  2. Antes, nosotros solíamos desayunar a las ocho — "Before, we used to have breakfast at eight"
  3. Él ha solido llegar tarde los lunes — "He has usually arrive late on Mondays"
  4. Yo ya había solido caminar al trabajo antes de salir — "I already had usually walk to work before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él suela leer por la noche — "I hope he usually read at night"
  2. Si yo soliera desayunar a las ocho, todo cambiaría — "If I usually have breakfast at eight, everything would change"
  3. Mañana, yo soleré llegar tarde los lunes — "Tomorrow, I will usually arrive late on Mondays"
  4. Yo habría solido caminar al trabajo con más tiempo — "I would have usually walk to work with more time"

soler in conversation

Two short dialogues that use soler the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo suelo leer por la noche — "I usually read at night"
  • Marcos: Él suele desayunar a las ocho — "He usually have breakfast at eight"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo solí llegar tarde los lunes — "Yesterday, I used to arrive late on Mondays"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú solerás caminar al trabajo — "Tomorrow, you will usually walk to work"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Yo solería ver la televisión después de cenar si pudiera — "I would usually watch television after dinner if I could"
  • Lucía: Él ha solido leer por la noche — "He has usually read at night"
  • Marcos: Espero que él suela desayunar a las ocho — "I hope he usually have breakfast at eight"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo solía llegar tarde los lunes — "Before, I used to arrive late on Mondays"

Common mistakes with soler

The errors learners actually make with soler, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo solo caminar al trabajo.

✓ Correct: Yo suelo caminar al trabajo.

soler is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is suelo, not solo.

✗ *Espero que él suele caminar al trabajo

✓ Correct: Espero que él suela caminar al trabajo

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él suela caminar al trabajo — not the indicative Espero que él suele caminar al trabajo.

✗ *Ayer, yo suelo ver la televisión después de cenar

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo solí ver la televisión después de cenar

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo solí ver la televisión después de cenar.

✗ *De niño, yo solí leer por la noche todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo solía leer por la noche todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo solía leer por la noche todos los días.

✗ *Yo suelo a leer por la noche.

✓ Correct: Yo suelo leer por la noche.

Soler takes the infinitive directly, with no preposition: suelo leer, not suelo a leer.

Quiz: soler in use

Ten questions on soler — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ leer por la noche — "I usually read at night" (present) A. solemos B. suelo C. sueles D. suele

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ desayunar a las ocho — "Yesterday, I used to have breakfast at eight" (preterite) A. solimos B. solí C. soliste D. solió

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ llegar tarde los lunes — "Before, we used to arrive late on Mondays" (imperfect) A. solíais B. solíamos C. solía D. solías

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ caminar al trabajo — "Tomorrow, you will usually walk to work" (future) A. soleré B. solerá C. soleremos D. solerás

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ ver la televisión después de cenar — "I would usually watch television after dinner" (conditional) A. solerías B. soleríamos C. soleríais D. solería

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ leer por la noche — "He has usually read at night" (present perfect) A. he solido B. has solido C. hemos solido D. ha solido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ desayunar a las ocho — "I hope he usually have breakfast at eight" (present subjunctive) A. suelas B. solamos C. soláis D. suela

  8. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ llegar tarde los lunes, todo cambiaría — "If I usually arrive late on Mondays, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. soliera B. solieras C. soliéramos D. solierais

  9. Which is the gerund of soler, used with estar for the progressive? A. solí B. soliendo C. solido D. suelo

  10. What does soler mean in English? A. to be in the habit of B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to usually do

Answer key

  1. suelo — The present form for yo is suelo.
  2. solí — The preterite form for yo is solí.
  3. solíamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is solíamos.
  4. solerás — The future form for tú is solerás.
  5. solería — The conditional form for yo is solería.
  6. ha solido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha solido.
  7. suela — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is suela.
  8. soliera — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is soliera.
  9. soliendo — The gerund of soler is soliendo: estoy soliendo. The participle solido is used with haber instead.
  10. to usually do — soler means to usually do.

Frequently asked questions

What does soler mean in English?

soler means to usually do, to be in the habit of. For example: Yo suelo leer por la noche — "I usually read at night". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with soler?

Soler takes an infinitive directly, with no preposition: suelo leer, sueles llegar tarde. Adding a or de before the infinitive is a common learner error.

Is soler regular?

No. soler is a stem-changing -er verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: suelo, sueles, suele and suelen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: solemos, soléis.

How do I practise soler?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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