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Nosotros solíamos adentrarnos para ver la estalagmita.

Nosotros solíamos adentrarnos para ver la estalagmita.
We used to go deep inside to see the stalagmite.
From Lesson 390:Superlatives with the subjunctive (el más... que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Nosotros solíamos adentrarnos para ver la estalagmita.

Could I just say Nosotros nos adentrábamos to mean "We used to go deep inside"?
Yes! The imperfect tense on its own (nos adentrábamos) can mean "we used to go inside." However, using the imperfect of soler (solíamos) followed by an infinitive explicitly emphasizes the habit or routine. It translates perfectly to "we were in the habit of" or "we used to."
Why is nos attached to the end of adentrar?
The verb here is the pronominal verb adentrarse, which means "to go deep into" or "to enter." The nos matches the subject Nosotros. Because the verb is in its infinitive form following solíamos, the pronoun can be attached directly to the end (adentrarnos) or placed before the conjugated verb (nos solíamos adentrar).
Why use para instead of por before ver?
When you want to say "in order to" do something, you use para + infinitive. It expresses the purpose or goal of the action. They went deep inside in order to see the stalagmite.
I learned that many words ending in "-ta" like el cometa or el planeta are masculine. Why is it la estalagmita?
While it's true that several Greek-derived words ending in "-ma", "-pa", and "-ta" are masculine exceptions, estalagmita acts as a regular feminine noun. It was coined later and simply follows the standard Spanish rule that nouns ending in "-a" are usually feminine.

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