Recursio
Lesson 81. Every summer, and that one time
10 words in this lesson
Tap 🔊 and repeat out loud. These words come back in the dialogue and the exercises below.
imperfecto (habit) and indefinido (one time); soler
A habit or one time
In lesson 79 the imperfecto was the background and the indefinido the event. Here is the second pair:
- it happened again and again, a habit → imperfecto: Cada verano íbamos al pueblo.
- it happened once → indefinido: Aquel verano fuimos a la playa.
The words around the verb often give a hint:
| usually with imperfecto | usually with indefinido |
|---|---|
| cada verano, siempre, de vez en cuando, antes | una vez, aquel día, ayer, el año pasado |
These words help you understand the context; they do not choose the tense. Here the imperfecto describes a habit, and the indefinido a completed event. Completed events can repeat too: Ayer fui dos veces al bar. — “Yesterday I went to the bar twice.” English often marks a past habit with used to or would.
Soler
Soler + infinitive means “to usually do”: Suelo comer a las dos. In the past — solía: Solía levantarme temprano. — “I used to get up early.”
Words
Perderse — “to get lost”: me perdí. Encontrarse con — to run into someone: me encontré con una vecina. Plain encontrar (lesson 48) means to find someone or something.
Cada verano íbamos al pueblo, pero aquel verano fuimos a la playa. — Every summer we used to go to the village, but that summer we went to the beach.
Solía levantarme temprano. — I used to get up early.
Una vez me perdí en la feria. — Once I got lost at the fair.
De vez en cuando íbamos al cine. — From time to time we went to the cinema.
Aquel día me encontré con Javier en el metro. — That day I ran into Javier on the metro.
Dialogue
Listen to each line and repeat it. Try to understand it before you look at the translation.
Javier Lucía, ¿qué hacías en verano de niña? Lucía, what did you do in the summer as a kid?
Lucía Cada verano íbamos al pueblo con mis abuelos. Era nuestra costumbre. Every summer we went to the village with my grandparents. It was our tradition.
Javier ¿Y qué hacíais allí? And what did you do there?
Lucía De vez en cuando íbamos a la feria. Una vez me perdí. From time to time we went to the fair. Once I got lost.
Javier ¡No! ¿Y qué pasó? No way! And what happened?
Lucía Aquel día me encontré con una vecina del pueblo. Fuimos juntas a casa. That day I ran into a neighbour from the village. We went home together.
Javier Yo cada verano iba a un campamento. Solía levantarme muy temprano. I went to a summer camp every summer. I used to get up very early.
Lucía ¿Tú, temprano? ¡Ahora te levantas a las diez! You, early? Now you get up at ten!
Check yourself
Listen. What did you hear?
1. How do you say “Every summer we used to go to the village”?
2. How do you say “Once I got lost at the fair”?
3. How do you say “I used to get up early”?
4. How do you say “Yesterday I ran into Nora on the metro”?
Match each word with its translation
Build the sentence: “Every summer we used to go to the village”
Build the sentence: “Once I got lost at the fair”
What you can do now
- Contrast a habit with one time: Cada verano íbamos al pueblo, pero aquel verano fuimos a la playa.
- Say what you used to do: Solía levantarme temprano.
- Tell one event: Una vez me perdí en la feria.
- Say from time to time: De vez en cuando íbamos al cine.
Key phrases of the lesson:
Cada verano íbamos al pueblo, pero aquel verano fuimos a la playa.
Solía levantarme temprano.
Una vez me perdí en la feria.
Day 81 of 100. Next up: the following lesson.
Lesson 82. That's why: por eso, así que, como →The course is the first step. Next comes the Recursio app: short daily practice with spaced review.