How to Say "Used To" in Spanish

soler

/soˈleɾ/

To say used to in Spanish, for something you did regularly in the past, use soler in its past form solía followed by a verb in the infinitive.

soler describes habits. In the past it means used to, and in the present it means to usually do something.

Meaning: accustomed to (adj)

Which one should you use?

soler describes a habit, as in used to do, while estar acostumbrado a means to be accustomed to something, as in being used to it.

soler is followed directly by an infinitive. For past habits it is most often in the imperfect, solía.

The IPA is /soˈleɾ/, with the stress on the last syllable.

Do not follow soler with a gerund. It always takes the infinitive.

Spanish speakers often omit solía entirely and simply use the imperfect tense to mean 'used to', making the use of soler an optional intensifier to emphasize the regularity of the habit.
Using solía in the imperfect tense allows a speaker to describe a 'golden age' or a nostalgic past, often implying that the habit has ceased and will not return.
In some Spanish dialects, soler can be used to express a probability or a typical outcome, similar to saying 'it usually happens that' rather than a personal habit.

Aquí solía estar la tele.
This is where the television used to be.
Here solía estar describes where the TV used to be.
Wiktionary
Anteriormente solía ir al gimnasio todos los días.
I used to go to the gym every day in the past.
En el pasado solía visitar a mis abuelos en verano.
I used to visit my grandparents in the summer in the past.
Antiguamente acostumbraba a leer mucho más.
I used to read a lot more in the past.
Solía ir al cine todos los fines de semana.
I used to go to the movies every weekend.
Acostumbraba a jugar fútbol en el parque de mi barrio.
I used to play soccer in the neighborhood park.

Sources

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