Uses of "soler"

[Hiperbólico]

Hola. I've heard uses of the verb soler occasionally, but I never gave much thought to its meaning. I encountered it in my list of verbal periphrases, namely the construction soler + (infinitivo).

The periphrasis seems to mean "to do (whatever) usually/typically".
e.g. Solemos comer fuera los viernes.
= We usually eat out on Fridays.

1) Is this correct usage?
2) Can it have meaning when conjugated alone, outside a periphrasis?

[Suavemente]

En el presente, se significa "to usually/generally" sobre todo cuando se intenta hacer algo.

Suelo ir a la playa cuando visito a mis primos en Brazil = I usually go to the beach when I visit my cousins in Brazil.

No nos solemos despertar hasta las nueve de la mañana = We don't generally wake up until 9:00am

En el pasado, se significa "to use to" básicamente al igual como se utiliza el imperfecto cuando se intenta hacer algo.

(Yo) Solíamos hacer ejercicios cada otro día = I use to work out every other day.

Ellas nunca solían cocinar = They never use to cook.

A veces es utilizado en vez del verbo "acostumbrar."

[wrholt]

Soler requires an infinitive as a complement, although it's possible for that infinitive to be implied rather than explicit. RAE describes this verb as a "defective verb", because it does not have forms for all tenses and moods. The conjugation page for it lists the infinitive, the gerundio, the present indicative, the present subjunctive, the imperfect indicative, and the imperfect subjunctive. The DPD also states that it it rarely used in the present perfect; that article gives a regular past participle. It does not have forms for the preterite tense, future tense, conditional tense, or imperative mood.

[Hiperbólico]

Escrito originalmente por Suavemente

En el presente, se significa "to usually/generally" sobre todo cuando se intenta hacer algo.

Suelo ir a la playa cuando visito a mis primos en Brazil = I usually go to the beach when I visit my cousins in Brazil.

No nos solemos despertar hasta las nueve de la mañana = We don't generally wake up until 9:00am

En el pasado, se significa "to use to" básicamente al igual como se utiliza el imperfecto cuando se intenta hacer algo.

(Yo) Solíamos hacer ejercicios cada otro día = I use to work out every other day.

Ellas nunca solían cocinar = They never use to cook.

A veces es utilizado en vez del verbo "acostumbrar."

Awesome, thanks. It's good to know how the meaning changes slightly across tenses. And by the way, shouldn't the verb in the second-to-last example be (Yo) Solía instead of "(Yo) Solíamos"?

Escrito originalmente por wrholt

Soler requires an infinitive as a complement, although it's possible for that infinitive to be implied rather than explicit. RAE describes this verb as a "defective verb", because it does not have forms for all tenses and moods. The conjugation page for it lists the infinitive, the gerundio, the present indicative, the present subjunctive, the imperfect indicative, and the imperfect subjunctive. The DPD also states that it it rarely used in the present perfect; that article gives a regular past participle. It does not have forms for the preterite tense, future tense, conditional tense, or imperative mood.

Thank you. I hadn't known about "defective verbs" until now.

Can you give an example of an implied infinitive?

[wrholt]

The DPD article about soler gives this example with an implied infinitive:

El correo llega tan puntualmente como suele.

In this case, the implied infinitive following "suele" is "llegar".

[Suavemente]

@Hiperbólico

Sí.... Eso fue lo que signifiqué. No estoy seguro por qué no puedo ni editar ni citar nada.

[Hiperbólico]

Escrito originalmente por wrholt

The DPD article about soler gives this example with an implied infinitive:

El correo llega tan puntualmente como suele.

In this case, the implied infinitive following "suele" is "llegar".

Neat. Is this usage generally acceptable in any context? I ask because it somewhat reminds me of dangling and incomplete phrases in English, which seem to be universally frowned upon in formal papers.

Escrito originalmente por Suavemente

Sí.... Eso fue lo que signifiqué. No estoy seguro por qué no puedo ni editar ni citar nada.

Entonces, las ordenes no están funcionando como suelen. En serio, no hay problema para mí. No sé que pasa.

[Glen]

I'm interested in comparing the uses of soler with those of acostumbrarse. Is one of them more commonly-used than the other?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

When "acostumbrar" (no pronominal) is used as a synonym of "soler", it usually implies an activity or a voluntary action. Structures are also different for each verb.


- Mi perro solía perseguir a los gatos, hasta que se cayó por el balcón.
- Mi perro acostumbraba perseguir a los gatos, hasta que se cayó por el balcón.

- Aquí solemos pasar las tardes.
- Aquí acostumbramos pasar las tardes.

- Este restaurante no es tan bueno como solía ser.
- Este restaurante no es tan bueno como acostumbraba. (The functions of the restaurant imply people activity.)

- Mi casa suele ser muy fría.
- Mi casa acostumbra ser muy fría. (The house does not perform any activities by itself.)

- Últimamente hace más calor de lo que solía hacer.
- Últimamente hace más calor de lo que acostumbraba hacer. (Unless the weather has a will to change, this sounds awkward.)


Note: These examples are what I think of these verbs, but some people around me aren't specially shocked about the last uses of "acostumbrar", so this might be a stylistic preference or regional usage.