Word
Los habitantes solían reunirse en esta plaza.
Meaning
The inhabitants used to meet in this square.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Los habitantes solían reunirse en esta plaza.
en
in / on / at
los
the (masculine plural)
esta
this (feminine)
la plaza
the square
Questions & Answers about Los habitantes solían reunirse en esta plaza.
Why use the imperfect solían instead of the preterite?
The verb soler means to usually do something. When talking about the past, it is almost exclusively used in the imperfect tense (solían) because it describes an ongoing habit or routine, rather than an isolated event with a clear start and end. It fits perfectly alongside past-duration expressions you are learning, as both describe ongoing past situations.
Why does reunir have a se at the end here?
Can I put the se before the conjugated verb instead?
Yes! When a conjugated verb is followed by an infinitive, you have two choices for pronoun placement. You can attach it to the end of the infinitive (solían reunirse) or place it right before the conjugated verb (se solían reunir). Both are completely correct and mean the exact same thing.