Mi abuela suele hojear el periódico mientras desayuna.

Soler is a very common verb that means to usually do something or to tend to do something.

So:

• Mi abuela suele hojear el periódico = My grandmother usually flips through the newspaper

A key point:

• soler is normally followed by an infinitive
• so suele hojear literally means usually flips through

Some examples:

• Suelo levantarme temprano. = I usually get up early.
• Suelen cenar a las diez. = They usually have dinner at ten.

English often uses usually as an adverb, but Spanish often uses soler + infinitive instead.

Because after soler, the next verb stays in the infinitive.

So the pattern is:

• soler + infinitive

Examples:

• suelo leer
• sueles estudiar
• suele hojear

In this sentence:

• suele is the conjugated verb
• hojear stays unchanged in the infinitive

You would not say:

• Mi abuela suele hojea el periódico ❌

You say:

• Mi abuela suele hojear el periódico ✅

Not exactly.

• leer = to read
• hojear = to leaf through, to flip through, to browse through

So hojear el periódico suggests that she is probably:

• turning the pages
• looking at headlines
• skimming
• not necessarily reading every article carefully

If you said:

• Mi abuela suele leer el periódico it would suggest she usually reads the newspaper

But:

• Mi abuela suele hojear el periódico suggests a lighter, quicker kind of reading.

In Spanish, articles like el, la, los, las are used more often than in English.

So Spanish naturally says:

• hojear el periódico
• leer el libro
• cerrar la puerta

Even where English might say:

• read the newspaper
• open the door
• brush your teeth

Spanish often keeps the article.

Here, el periódico simply means the newspaper, and it sounds natural and complete.

Because Spanish often omits subject pronouns when the meaning is clear.

In:

• Mi abuela suele hojear el periódico mientras desayuna

the subject of desayuna is understood to be mi abuela.

So Spanish does not need:

• mientras ella desayuna

although that is possible in some contexts for emphasis or contrast.

This is very normal in Spanish:

• Juan estudia mientras escucha música.
• Mi madre cocina mientras habla por teléfono.

In both cases, the subject is understood from context.

Because the whole sentence describes a habit or usual action.

• suele hojear = usually flips through
• desayuna = has breakfast / is having breakfast in a habitual sense

Spanish often uses the present tense for regular or repeated actions.

So:

• mientras desayuna = while she has breakfast / while she’s having breakfast

In English, we often choose between:

• while she has breakfast
• while she’s having breakfast

Spanish simply uses the present here.

Mientras means while.

It connects two actions that happen at the same time:

• Mi abuela suele hojear el periódico
• mientras desayuna

So the meaning is:

• she flips through the newspaper
• at the same time as
• she has breakfast

Very common structure:

• mientras + verb

Examples:

• Escucho la radio mientras cocino.
• Habla por teléfono mientras camina.

In this sentence, mientras is the natural choice.

• mientras = while

You will also see mientras que, but it is often used:

• for contrast
• or in slightly more formal styles

Here, for two simultaneous actions, mientras is the most straightforward option:

• Mi abuela suele hojear el periódico mientras desayuna. ✅

Yes, in the most natural reading, desayuna refers to mi abuela.

So the sentence means:

• My grandmother usually flips through the newspaper while she has breakfast.

Could Spanish make it someone else’s breakfast? Only if the sentence gave some clue. As written, the default interpretation is that the same person does both actions.

Because mi abuela is the normal and most common way to say my grandmother.

Spanish usually puts possessives like mi, tu, su, nuestro before the noun:

• mi casa
• mi madre
• mi abuela

Forms like la abuela mía do exist, but they are more marked and usually used:

• for emphasis
• in special contexts
• or in certain regional styles

So here:

• Mi abuela = the standard, neutral choice

No. Desayunar can be used on its own to mean to have breakfast.

So:

• desayuna = she has breakfast

You can also add food if you want:

• Desayuna tostadas. = She has toast for breakfast.
• Desayuna café y fruta. = She has coffee and fruit for breakfast.

But in this sentence, no object is needed.

A few useful pronunciation points:

• h is silent in Spanish
• j is pronounced like a strong throaty sound, similar to the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach
• hojear is pronounced roughly like o-heh-AR, with the stress on the last syllable

So the beginning is o-, not an English h sound.

Also:

• periódico has the stress on rió: pe-RIÓ-di-co
• desayuna has the stress on yu: de-sa-YU-na

Often yes, but not always word-for-word.

Soler + infinitive often corresponds to:

• usually
• tend to
• normally

Examples:

• Suelo caminar al trabajo. = I usually walk to work.
• Suele estar cansado por la tarde. = He tends to be tired in the afternoon.

So in this sentence:

• Mi abuela suele hojear el periódico
  could be translated as:
• My grandmother usually flips through the newspaper
• My grandmother tends to flip through the newspaper

Usually is the most natural translation here.

Yes, it works perfectly in Spain Spanish, but it is also understandable across the Spanish-speaking world.

A couple of vocabulary notes:

• periódico is standard everywhere for newspaper
• desayunar is standard everywhere for to have breakfast
• hojear is also widely understood

So although you are learning Spanish from Spain, this sentence is not especially regional. It is broadly standard Spanish.

The structure is:

• Mi abuela = subject
• suele hojear = verb phrase
• el periódico = direct object
• mientras desayuna = time clause

So:

[Subject] + [soler + infinitive] + [object] + [while-clause]

That makes it a very useful model sentence, for example:

• Mi padre suele escuchar la radio mientras conduce.
• Mi hermana suele leer mientras espera el autobús.

It is a good pattern to copy in your own Spanish.