Learn Spanish (Latin America): El crecimiento de la ciudad solía traer más contaminación. - The growth of the city used to bring more pollution.

El crecimiento de la ciudad solía traer más contaminación.

The growth of the city used to bring more pollution.

Breakdown of El crecimiento de la ciudad solía traer más contaminación.

Questions & Answers about El crecimiento de la ciudad solía traer más contaminación.

Why do we use solía traer here instead of just saying traía?

Both solía traer and traía can mean "used to bring." However, using the imperfect of soler before an infinitive specifically emphasizes that this was a strong habit or a regular occurrence in the past. It highlights what "usually" happened.

Why is soler in the imperfect tense (solía) rather than the preterite?

The verb soler describes habits, routines, or general tendencies. Because these are ongoing states in the past without a definite start or end point, soler is almost exclusively used in the present or imperfect tense. You will rarely ever see it in the preterite.

How does the word crecimiento relate to the verb "to grow"?

Crecimiento means "growth" and comes directly from the verb crecer (to grow). The suffix -miento is a very common way to turn a verb into a noun, similar to adding "-ment" in English.

Does contaminación mean "contamination" or "pollution"?

It translates to both! While it looks like the English word "contamination," contaminación is the standard, everyday word used in Spanish for environmental "pollution."