Habits with soler
To say what you usually do, Spanish has a verb made for habits: soler + infinitive. It works like usually in English, but it is a verb, so it is soler that changes for the person, and the action after it stays in the infinitive.
Soler changes o → ue, like poder and dormir:
| person | soler |
|---|
| yo | suelo |
| tú | sueles |
| él / ella / usted | suele |
| nosotros / nosotras | solemos |
| vosotros / vosotras | soléis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | suelen |
Two common mistakes. Soler never stands alone — it always needs an infinitive after it. And the second verb is never conjugated: not suelo me levanto, but suelo levantarme, with the pronoun on the end of the infinitive (or me suelo levantar, with the pronoun before soler).
Getting up and getting ready
Despertarse (me despierto, e → ie) is to wake up; levantarse is to get out of bed. Both are reflexive, like ducharse and acostarse, and so is afeitarse (to shave).
In the bathroom you need el cepillo de dientes and la pasta de dientes.
Ir or irse?
Ir is about where you go, so it normally names a destination. Irse is about leaving the place where you are now — the destination is optional.
| verb | it answers | example |
|---|
| ir | Where are you going? | Voy al trabajo a las ocho. |
| irse | Are you leaving? | Me voy, ¡hasta mañana! |
In a hurry, sleepy
Like tener hambre, Spanish uses tener + noun for these states: tener prisa (to be in a hurry) and tener sueño (to be sleepy). Make them stronger with mucho / mucha.
