Another unique aspect of soler is that it has no direct English equivalent. There is no one-word verb in English which has the exact meaning that soler has in Spanish. If you look in an English-Spanish dictionary, you will see “to be in the habit of” or “used to” or  given as definitions of soler in English.

Here’s all you need to know about soler. It’s a verb that you use in Spanish to indicate that an action is routine or an activity is habitual. In English we would resort to using the adverbs “usually” or “generally”  to convey the same meaning.

In the present tense, soler is used to refer to current actions which are routine or habitual.
In the past tense, soler is used to refer to past habitual or routine actions.

Also, soler is always, always, always followed by the infinitive of another verb which represents the routine action. (The formula is: SOLER + INFINITIVE of another verb = habitual action)

Here are some examples:

Cuando Daniel era pequeño, solía comer pasteles de barro. Creía que eran chocolate. When Daniel was little, he would eat (was in the habit of eating) mud pies. He thought they were chocolate.

¿A qué hora sueles acostarte? What time do you usually go to bed?

Solía acostarme temprano pero ahora suelo dormir menos de cinco horas cada noche. (I used to go to bed early but now I usually sleep less than five hours every night.)

Suelo ir al gimnasio tres veces a la semana y suelo dar un paseo en el parque con mi perro todos los días. (I usually go to the gym 3x a week and I usually take a walk in the park with my dog every day.)

Soler can also be used  in the subjunctive just like any other normal Spanish verb.

For example:

Espero que el tren suela llegar a tiempo porque tengo prisa. (I hope the train usually arrives on time because I’m in a hurry.)

Me sorprende que Antonio suela salir con chicas tan bobas porque es un hombre muy culto. (It surprises me that Antonio usually goes out with such bimbos because he’s a very cultured, well-educated man.)

No creo que los famosos de Hollywood suelan cenar en este restaurante tan cutre y sucio. (I don’t believe that Hollywood celebs generally dine in this tacky, dirty restaurant.)

For example, estar aburrido vs. ser aburrido is the difference between being bored or being boring!

The very general rule of thumb is that we use SER + an adjective is for permanent, intrinsic characteristics while ESTAR is for temporary changes or changes that have come as the result of some kind of process. However, there are circumstances where it’s not 100% clear to non-native Spanish speakers how the meaning of some adjectives change when paired with SER or ESTAR.

For example, estar muerto vs. ser muerto. Muerto means “dead” and often English speakers have the tendency to want to use the verb ser with this adjective. However, when referring to the physical state of being dead, of being six feet under, you must use the verb estar. Ser (un) muerto means to be a bore, a dud.  Same deal with estar vivo (to be physically alive, as in living and breathing) vs. ser vivo (to be very clever, mentally bright, etc.)

There are some Spanish adjectives that can be paired with SER and ESTAR and not change meaning. Interestingly enough, they are adjectives that have to do with one’s relationship status. Adjectives such as casado (married), soltero (single) and viudo (widowed).  So regardless of whether somebody  “está casado” or “es casado,” they both mean the same thing – that the person is married.

There are a ton of these kinds of adjectives. That’s why I’ve put together a list of 33 of these Spanish adjectives, along with their different meanings, in one handy printout. You can get your copy of “Spanish Shapeshifters” by signing up for my email list in the righthand column of this blog. Don’t worry, it’s gratis.

Need a little help using these adjectives correctly? Check out the ReVerb Spanish page on Twitter  for examples of sentences using these different adjectives.

That may lead some English speakers who are studying Spanish to say things like  “Miro la tele” or “Me gusta mirar películas” in Spanish. This is incorrect. In Spanish, use VER when referring to the act of watching TV, movies or sports.

VER

A Juan le encanta ver los dibujos animados. Juan loves to watch cartoons.

Me gusta ver el tenís. I like to watch tennis.

Of course, VER is also used in the general sense of seeing:

¡Nos vemos pronto! See you soon! (Literally: We see each other soon.)

Anoche el niño vio una fantasma. Last night the boy saw a ghost.

MIRAR

…can also can be translated as “to watch” but more in the context of looking at someone or something with intention. Personally, I prefer the translation “to look at,” that way you avoid any confusion with VER.

Este café es un buen lugar para mirar a la gente. This café is a great place to people watch/to look at people.

¡Oye! ¿Qué miras? ¡¿Tengo monos en la cara?! Hey! What are you looking at?!

No, tranquila. Estoy mirando la araña que trepa por tu hombro. No, calm down. I’m looking at (I’m watching) the spider climbing your shoulder.

“Tener monos en la cara” is a very funny expression used in Spain. Literally, it means “Do I have monkeys on my face?” and it is a testy way of  asking somebody what the heck they are looking at when they are staring at you.

Anyway, regarding MIRAR, it is a bit more literary than VER since it a verb that means to observe or to contemplate. For example, there is a difference in meaning between  “ves las estrellas” and “miras las estrellas.” The first phrase (ves las estrellas) references the general act of seeing the stars. You have eyes so you can see the stars. The second phrase (miras las estrellas) suggests viewing with intention or focus or with great interest. You look at the stars….leading you to contemplate the vastness of the universe….

Visit the ReVerb Spanish page on Twitter for more phrases containing VER or MIRAR. Check the June 15 entries.

To tell you the truth, there is a lot I want to share with you about Spanish verbs but some of it really doesn’t warrant a 400+ word blog entry.

That’s where Twitter comes in. Twitter is a web site where people can post very short messages on all sorts of topics. It’s like a blog but with entries that are extremely brief.  There is a 140-character limit per entry, and that includes punctuation marks and spaces!

Twitter is a great platform for ReVerb Spanish because you can get more helpful tips about different Spanish verbs without having to wade through lengthy explanations. In fact, it’s an efficient way for me to address some verbs that are interesting but maybe don’t have enough meat to devote an entire podcast to them.

Wondering what kinds of things I’m putting on Twitter? Here’s a sampling of a few verbs that were the focus in some recent “tweets.” (You’ll have to visit the ReVerb Spanish Twitter page to get the answers to these riddles.)

Armarse un lío vs. Hacerse un lío: They both mean trouble but in different ways.

Estar a cargo de vs. Hacerse cargo de: Who’s the boss between those two phrases?

Alumbrar vs. Deslumbrar: Shine some light on two similar verbs

Callarse la boca vs Cerrarle la boca: It’s the difference between keeping one’s mouth shut or causing someone to shut theirs!

As you can see, it’s a little bit of everything. But the focus is solely on explaining to you the nuances of Spanish verbs and verb phrases that are not only useful for you to know but also a lot of fun to use!

I post items over there more frequently than I do on this blog, so if you ever miss me (si me echas de menos) and wonder what I’ve been up to, you can find me twittering away at Twitter.com/ReVerbSpanish.  If you feel like it, sign up for your own Twitter account and we can also communicate with one another that way.

¡Hasta luego!

The Spanish gerund endings are:

-ando (for verbs that end in -ar)

-iendo (for verbs that end in -er or -ir)

-yendo (A few -er and -ir verbs use this ending)

A gerund is used in both the present continuous and past continuous tenses. It is a way to emphasize an action that is happening in the moment. Estoy leyendo (I am reading). Estaba leyendo (I was reading).

To be more precise, the Spanish phrase “estoy leyendo” means “I am reading (right now)” while “yo estaba leyendo” means “I was reading (right then, at that very moment in the past).”

In English, we tend to use the -ing form a lot. In fact, English uses the continuous tense (also called the progressive tense) more frequently than Spanish does. As a result, it is very common for English speakers to use this form excessively when they speak Spanish.

For example, it is very common and normal to hear someone in English say “I am learning Spanish.” The speaker of this sentence is  just making a general statement. He is not necessarily saying that he is learning Spanish in that very moment.

However, in Spanish, it sounds kind of odd to say “Estoy aprendiendo español” UNLESS you want to emphasize that you are studying Spanish at that very moment.

If that’s not the case, it’s more typical and correct in Spanish to say “Aprendo español,” which in English can be translated as  “I learn Spanish” or  “I am learning Spanish.”

In Spanish, the continuous/progressive tense generally implies a longer duration or repetition of the verbal action. In English, however, we tend to use the -ing form when referring to brief actions or things that are going to happen in the near future.

Here are some common examples where it is natural to go with the -ing form in English but in Spanish you would stick with the present tense.

English: Who are you talking to? With whom are you speaking?

Spanish: ¿Con quién hablas? (present tense)

English: What are you doing?

Spanish: ¿Qué haces?

English: I’m coming back tonight.

Spanish: Vuelvo esta noche.

There are some other key differences between the Spanish gerund and the English gerund. In English, a gerund can also be used as is a noun. For example:  “Walking is great exercise.” The word “walking” is a verbal noun.

In Spanish, we create a verbal noun by using the infinitive (the unconjugated form of the verb) not by using its gerund.

Caminar es excelente para la salud = Walking is great for your health

NOT Caminando es excelente para la salud.

No fumar aquí. (No smoking allowed.)  NOT No fumando aquí.

Dormir es mi actividad favorita (Sleeping is my favorite activity) NOT Durmiendo es mi actividad favorita.

Other scenarios in which the -ing form that we use in English requires the infinitive in Spanish:

With a verb that expresses likes and dislikes: Odio nadar en agua fría. (I hate swimming in cold water.)

With some prepositions: El cocinero se lava las manos antes de hacer la comida. (The cook washes his hands before making the meal.)

But on the flip side, there are times when the Spanish gerund doesn’t correspond to the English -ing form.

TIME (to show two parallel actions)

Estando en España, hablo español. (While I am Spain, I speak Spanish.)

CAUSE (to indicate a major circumstance)

Siendo presidente, Barack Obama tiene más responsiblidades que nunca. (Since he is president, Barack Obama has more responsibilities than ever.)

MANNER (to show the way in which an action takes place)

El perro entra corriendo cuando oye el silbato. (The dog runs inside when he hears the whistle.)

In Spanish, a gerund is typically attached to the verb ESTAR but there are other Spanish verbs that can be paired with a gerund. This week’s podcast talks about one of them -  the verb ANDAR. In a future episode, I will mention some other verbs that can replace ESTAR in the continuous/progessive tense formula (ESTAR + a gerund).

This podcast is the audio verb drill for the imperfect past tense of SER. Purchase the complete set of audio verb drills for SER on this page. The price is $7.99.

As always, I’m open to receiving your suggestions and feedback. You can contact me directly through this blog’s contact page.

What’s the distinction between the preterite and the imperfect past tenses in Spanish? The preterite past tense is used for “terminated actions” in the past. That means actions that started and ended at a specific point in the past. The imperfect past tense is used for describing actions in the past. This is an extremely simplified definition. There are numerous chapters in grammar books written on the subject of Spanish past tenses, so I don’t want this one particular 400-word blog entry to get bogged down. Suffice it to say that the imperfect past tense in Spanish is used for descriptions, for narration, for talking about an ongoing state of being or feeling in the past.

Conocer in the preterite tense generally is translated as “met,” as in the first time you met someone. If you use the preterite with a thing or a place, you’re emphasizing that moment of initial contact in the past.

For example:  ¿Conoces a Miguel? Do you know Miguel? Sí, lo conozco. Lo conocí anoche.   Yes, I know him. (I know who he is. I am acquainted with him.) I met him last night.

Conocer in the imperfect past tense means “knew,” but in the sense of used to know, used to be familiar with someone or something. Conocía ese restaurante cuando vivía en Barcelona. I used to know that restaurant (I was familiar with that restuarant) when I was living in Barcelona.

Saber, in the preterite tense, means “knew” or “found out.”
Let’s say that you’re talking to a friend who asks you if you heard that a mutual acquaintance of yours has gotten engaged. This is old news to you because you heard about the engagement before. So in Spanish you would say, Sí, ya lo sé. Lo supe ayer. (Yes, I already know. I found out [I heard] about it yesterday.)

In the imperfect past tense, saber still means “knew” but in a more general, descriptive sense. You can also translate it as “used to know.” For example: Cuando yo era niña, sabía tocar al piano. When I was a kid, I knew how to play the piano. I used to know how to play the piano.

A general rule of thumb that, while not 100% foolproof, will help you out the majority of the time:

If the action of knowing is something that can be pinned down to a specific period of time in the past: Use the preterite tense.

If the state of knowing is being described in the past: Use the imperfect tense.

Conocer is intangible knowledge in the sense of to be familiar with someone or something. Use this verb with people, places and things.
Example: ¿Usted conoce Madrid? Do you know Madridl? ¿Conoces a Felipe? Do you know Phillip? Are you acquainted with Phillip? ¿Conoce usted ese café? Do you know that café? Are you familiar with that cafe?

Saber, meanwhile, means to know a fact, to have specific knowledge about something.

Examples:

¿Sabes a qué hora empieza la película? Do you know what time the movie starts? ¿Sabes el título de la película? ¿Sabe María mi nombre? Do you know the title of the movie? Does Mary know my name?

You can get additional mileage out of saber by adding an infinitive to it. An infinitive is an unconjugated verb. Here is the formula for saying “to know how” to do something in Spanish. Saber + infinitve = to know how (in English)

Here are some examples:

¿Sabe cocinar tu compañero de piso? (Does your roommate know how to cook?

Sí, él sabe cocinar. (Yes, he knows how to cook.)

Notice that this construction in Spanish doesn’t require the adverb “cómo” (how).

So, to summarize, conocer and saber both mean “to know” but with distinct usages.
Use CONOCER when referring to people, places or things that you know or are familiar with. Use SABER when referring to facts, information, specific know-how.