Breakdown of Antiguamente, los vecinos solían conversar en la acera.
en
in / on / at
los
the (masculine plural)
conversar
to converse
la acera
the sidewalk
el vecino
the neighbor
soler
to usually do / to tend to
antiguamente
formerly
Questions & Answers about Antiguamente, los vecinos solían conversar en la acera.
Why do we use solían conversar here instead of just using the imperfect tense conversaban?
Both are grammatically correct and translate to "used to converse," but using the imperfect of soler followed by an infinitive puts special emphasis on the action being a long-standing habit or custom. While conversaban can mean "they used to converse" or "they were conversing," solían conversar strictly means "they were in the habit of conversing."
Can soler be used in the preterite tense, like solieron?
You will almost never see soler used in the preterite. It is almost exclusively used in the present tense for current habits (meaning "to usually do something") or the imperfect tense for past habits. Because a habit naturally implies an ongoing action without a defined beginning or end, the imperfect solían is the correct fit here.
Antiguamente translates to "in the past", but doesn't it literally mean "anciently"?
Literally, yes, because it is built from the adjective antiguo (old or ancient). However, in everyday Spanish, antiguamente is a very standard way to say "in the past," "formerly," or "back in the old days." It doesn't necessarily mean centuries ago; it just contrasts how things used to be with how they are now.
Is acera the standard word for "sidewalk" in Latin America?
Acera is standard and universally understood, but regional words are very common for this specific vocabulary item. For example, in Mexico you will frequently hear banqueta, and in much of South America (like Argentina, Peru, and Chile), people commonly say vereda.
Why use conversar in this sentence instead of hablar?
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