oler Present Conjugation
oler — to smell (of something)
Oler is highly irregular in the present: huelo, hueles, huele, olemos, oléis, huelen.
oler Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present to describe how something smells right now or to state a general fact about an aroma.
Notes on oler in the Present
This verb is unique. It undergoes an o->ue stem change, but because Spanish words don't usually start with 'ue', an 'h' is added to the beginning of the stressed forms.
Example Sentences
Esta sopa huele de maravilla.
This soup smells wonderful.
él/ella/usted
No huelo nada porque tengo gripe.
I don't smell anything because I have the flu.
yo
Tus zapatos huelen mal.
Your shoes smell bad.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'uelo' instead of 'huelo'.
Correct: The correct spelling is 'huelo'.
Why: In Spanish, the 'ue' diphthong at the start of a word requires a preceding 'h'.
Mistake: Saying 'huelemos' instead of 'olemos'.
Correct: The correct form is 'olemos'.
Why: The stem change only happens when the syllable is stressed; in 'olemos', the stress is on the ending.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: olí
The preterite of oler is regular: olí, oliste, olió, olimos, olisteis, olieron.
Imperfect
yo: olía
The imperfect of oler is regular: olía, olías, olía, olíamos, olíais, olían.
Future
yo: oleré
The future of oler is regular: oleré, olerás, olerá, oleremos, oleréis, olerán.
Conditional
yo: olería
The conditional of oler is regular: olería, olerías, olería, oleríamos, oleríais, olerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: huela
The present subjunctive follows the present indicative's irregularities: huela, huelas, huela, olamos, oláis, huelan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: oliera
The imperfect subjunctive is regular based on the preterite stem: oliera, olieras, oliera, oliéramos, olierais, olieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: huele
Use the imperative to tell someone to smell something: huele, huela, olamos, oled, huelan.
Negative Imperative
yo: no huelas
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no huelas, no huela, no olamos, no oláis, no huelan.