Verb Phrases: acabar de, volver a, soler
A2–B1Imperative and verb phrases 6 min
Verb phrases say how an action goes: acabar de for something just done, empezar a, volver a, dejar de, seguir and soler. The first verb changes and keeps its preposition; the second stays in the infinitive: Acabo de llegar. Vuelve a llover.
No information at the current level. This view starts at A2: choose A2 or a higher level.
No information at the current level. This view starts at A2: choose A2 or a higher level.
CheatsheetA2–B1
| Form | Meaning | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| acabar de + infinitive | something that has just happened | Acabo de llegar. | I've just arrived. |
| empezar a + infinitive | the start of an action | Empiezo a trabajar a las ocho. | I start work at eight. |
| volver a + infinitive | an action again | Vuelve a llover. | It's raining again. |
| B1dejar de + infinitive | the end of a habit or an action | Dejé de fumar el año pasado. | I stopped smoking last year. |
| B1soler + infinitive | a habit | Suelo levantarme temprano. | I usually get up early. |
| B1seguir + gerund | an action that goes on | Sigo viviendo en Lima. | I still live in Lima. |
| B1ponerse a + infinitive | a sudden start | El niño se puso a llorar. | The child started crying. |
| B1estar a punto de + infinitive | something about to happen | El tren está a punto de salir. | The train is about to leave. |
| Trap | the preposition stays: de, a | Empiezo a entender. | I'm beginning to understand. |
| B1Trap | seguir takes the gerund | Sigo estudiando. | I'm still studying. |
OverviewA2
- A verb phrase is a conjugated verb, often a preposition, and an infinitive or a gerund.
- The first verb carries the person and the tense; the infinitive never changes: Acabo de comer. / Acabamos de comer. — I've just eaten. / We've just eaten.
- Pronouns go before the first verb or join the end of the infinitive: La acabo de ver. / Acabo de verla. — I've just seen her. / I've just seen her.
- Verbs for ability and obligation: Can, Must, Should: poder, saber, deber, tener que, hay que.
Use: beginning and endA2–B1
| Form | Meaning | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| empezar a + infinitive | the start of an action | Mañana empiezo a estudiar inglés. | Tomorrow I start studying English. |
| B1ponerse a + infinitive | a sudden start | De repente se puso a llover. | Suddenly it started to rain. |
| B1estar a punto de + infinitive | something about to happen | Estoy a punto de salir: te llamo luego. | I'm about to go out: I'll call you later. |
| acabar de + infinitive | something that has just happened | Acabo de llegar. / Ana acaba de salir. | I've just arrived. / Ana has just gone out. |
| B1dejar de + infinitive | the end of a habit or an action | Dejé de fumar el año pasado. | I stopped smoking last year. |
- acabar de in the present says something has just happened: La película acaba de empezar. — The film has just started.
- Latin America: In much of Latin America, recién with the preterite says the same: Recién llegué. — I've just arrived.
Use: repetition and habitA2–B1
| Form | Meaning | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| volver a + infinitive | an action again | Vuelve a llover. / Mañana vuelvo a llamar. | It's raining again. / I'll call again tomorrow. |
| B1soler + infinitive | a habit | Suelo levantarme temprano. / Los domingos solemos comer en casa. | I usually get up early. / On Sundays we usually eat at home. |
| B1seguir + gerund | an action that goes on | Sigo viviendo en Lima. / ¿Sigues trabajando en el banco? | I still live in Lima. / Are you still working at the bank? |
B1
- seguir takes a gerund, not an infinitive, and changes e to i: sigo / sigues / sigue.
soler: present and imperfectB1
| Person | Present | Imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| yo | suelo | solía |
| tú | sueles | solías |
| él / ella / usted | suele | solía |
| nosotros / nosotras | solemos | solíamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | soléis | solíais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | suelen | solían |
- soler lives in the present and the imperfect, and changes o to ue in the present.
- solía with an infinitive is a past habit: De niño solía jugar al fútbol. — As a child I used to play football.
- Past habits with the imperfect: Imperfect: comía.
Compare: empezar a and ponerse aB1
| empezar a | ponerse a |
|---|---|
| the start of an action, planned or not | a sudden start, often unexpected |
| Empecé a estudiar a las nueve. — I started studying at nine. | De repente se puso a llorar. — Suddenly she started crying. |
Typical errorsA2–B1
| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Acabo llegar. | Acabo de llegar. | acabar takes de |
| Empiezo trabajar a las ocho. | Empiezo a trabajar a las ocho. | empezar takes a |
| B1Dejé fumar. | Dejé de fumar. | dejar for stopping takes de |
| B1Sigo vivir en Lima. | Sigo viviendo en Lima. | seguir takes the gerund |
| B1Suelo de levantarme temprano. | Suelo levantarme temprano. | soler takes the infinitive with no preposition |
| B1De niño solí jugar al fútbol. | De niño solía jugar al fútbol. | a past habit takes the imperfect: solía |