A cheerful young boy is depicted repeatedly throwing a small, red rubber ball against a brick wall, illustrating a customary past action or habit.

solías

soh-LEE-ahs

Verb (Conjugated Form)A2defective/irregular er

you used to?Expressing a past habit (informal singular)

Also:you would always?Expressing a repeated past action

Quick Reference

infinitivesoler

gerundsoliendo

past Participlesolido

📝 In Action

¿Qué solías hacer después del colegio?

What did you use to do after school?

Cuando eras niño, solías jugar con ese tren de juguete.

When you were a child, you used to play with that toy train.

Solías venir a vernos más a menudo.

You used to come see us more often.

Word Connections

Synonyms

acostumbrabas (you were accustomed to)

Common Collocations

solías + infinitive – Used to do something

💡 Grammar Points

Structure of Soler

The verb soler is always followed immediately by another verb in its base form (the infinitive): 'solías comer' (you used to eat).

Talking about the Past

Since solías is in the Imperfect tense, it is used to describe actions that happened repeatedly or continuously over a period of time in the past, not just a single, finished event.

❌ Common Pitfalls

Using the wrong tense

Mistake: "Usar el Pretérito: ¿Qué soliste hacer?"

Correction: Use the Imperfect: ¿Qué solías hacer? *Soler* almost never uses the Preterite tense to talk about habits.

⭐ Usage Tips

English Equivalent

Think of solías as a perfect, direct translation for the English phrase 'you used to' when describing past routines.

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: solías

Question 1 of 2

Which sentence correctly uses 'solías' to describe a past habit?

📚 More Resources

Word Family

soler(to usually do) - verb

costumbre(custom/habit) - noun

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is 'solías' used instead of a simple past tense like 'hiciste'?

'Solías' (using the Imperfect tense) emphasizes that the action was a routine or a state that lasted a long time in the past ('You used to'). Simple past tenses (Preterite) describe actions that happened once and were finished ('You did it').

Is *soler* used in the future tense?

Not really. While technically possible to conjugate, native speakers usually avoid using *soler* in the future or conditional tenses because it sounds awkward. They would instead say 'normally you will...' or 'usually you would...' using *normalmente* or *habitualmente*.