Did You Use To Run With Them In Spanish? | Past Habit Line

“¿Solías correr con ellos?” is the closest match, and “¿Antes corrías con ellos?” works when you mean “back then”.

You’ve got an English sentence that feels simple, then Spanish asks one extra question: are you talking about a repeated past habit, or a single past event? “Did you use to run with them?” is about a habit, so Spanish usually reaches for the imperfect tense, sometimes paired with soler (“to usually do”). Once you choose that frame, the rest is just picking the tone: casual vs. polite, and “them” as masculine, feminine, or mixed.

This article gives you clean, natural Spanish options, plus a quick way to pick the right one in real conversations, messages, or subtitles.

Did You Use To Run With Them In Spanish? Two Natural Translations

If you want one safe line that fits most contexts, start here:

• ¿Solías correr con ellos? (informal “you”)
• ¿Solía correr con ellos? (formal “you,” usted)

Soler signals a repeated habit in the past. The rest of the sentence is straightforward: correr + con + ellos/ellas. The Real Academia Española notes that soler is normally followed by an infinitive to express what is customary or habitual. Diccionario panhispánico de dudas: “soler”

If you want something a touch lighter, Spanish often drops soler and uses the imperfect alone:

• ¿Corrías con ellos? (informal)
• ¿Corría con ellos? (formal)

Those versions can feel more conversational, like you’re asking about someone’s old routine without pressing the “used to” wording.

What “Used To” Means In This Sentence

In English, “used to” can point to a past habit (“I used to run every weekend”) or a past state (“I used to live near the park”). Your line is clearly habit-based: you’re asking if the person regularly ran together with a group.

Spanish marks that habit in two main ways:

• Imperfect tense of the main verb: corrías, corría, corríamos.
• Soler in the imperfect + infinitive: solías correr, solía correr.

The imperfect is the tense Spanish leans on for ongoing, repeated, or background actions in the past. The RAE’s grammar notes that the imperfect presents a past situation without framing it as a completed, bounded event from the moment of speaking. RAE grammar on the imperfect (“cantaba”)

That’s why “Did you use to run with them?” maps so neatly to corrías or solías correr.

Pick The Best Spanish Sentence For Your Context

These choices all translate the idea, but they don’t all land the same way. Use the one that matches your situation and your relationship with the person.

When You Want The Most Direct Match

¿Solías correr con ellos? is a close, faithful match to “Did you use to run with them?” It states “habit” right away, so the listener doesn’t have to infer it.

When You Want A Casual, Chatty Tone

¿Corrías con ellos? feels like a normal check-in. It can also carry a hint of “Were you part of that running group?” depending on context.

When You Mean “Back Then” Or “In Those Days”

Add a time cue. Two common options:

• ¿Antes corrías con ellos?
• ¿En esa época corrías con ellos?

The time cue pins the habit to a past period without sounding stiff.

When “Them” Is All Women

Swap ellos for ellas:

• ¿Solías correr con ellas?
• ¿Corrías con ellas?

In mixed groups, ellos is still common in standard Spanish. If you’re writing for a specific audience, match the style your readers expect.

When You’re Speaking To “You All”

Spanish changes based on region:

• Spain (vosotros): ¿Solíais correr con ellos? / ¿Corríais con ellos?
• Many other regions (ustedes): ¿Solían correr con ellos? / ¿Corrían con ellos?

If you’re unsure, ustedes forms are widely understood across the Spanish-speaking world.

Common Traps And Easy Fixes

Most mistakes here come from mixing up tense or forcing a word-for-word translation. Here are the ones that show up a lot, plus fixes you can apply on the spot.

Trap 1: Using A Completed Past Tense By Habit

¿Corriste con ellos? sounds like “Did you run with them (that one time)?” If the English speaker meant a habit, switch to imperfect: ¿Corrías con ellos?

Trap 2: Adding “Usado” Because English Has “Used”

Spanish doesn’t translate “used to” with usado in this sense. Keep it in the verb tense: corrías or solías correr.

Trap 3: Forgetting The Question Marks

Written Spanish uses opening and closing question marks: ¿ and ?. It’s a small detail, but it makes your line look native on screen.

Trap 4: Overloading The Sentence With Extras

If you start piling on details (“with them,” “every day,” “after work,” “for years”), the sentence can get heavy. Keep the core question short, then add a follow-up line if you need detail.

Try a two-step approach:

• ¿Solías correr con ellos?
• ¿En qué años fue eso?

That keeps the first question clean and easy to answer.

Translation Table For Real-World Meanings

Use this table when you’re picking the best line for dialogue, captions, or a message where tone matters as much as grammar.

Meaning In English	Best Spanish Line	When To Pick It
Past habit with a clear “used to” feel	¿Solías correr con ellos?	You want “habit” to be explicit.
Past habit, casual conversation	¿Corrías con ellos?	Friends, chat, quick check-in.
Back then, during a past phase	¿Antes corrías con ellos?	You’re contrasting past vs. now.
Back then, tied to a period you both know	¿En esa época corrías con ellos?	You mean “in those days” with context.
Formal “you” (usted)	¿Solía correr con ellos?	Polite tone, older person, formal setting.
All-women group	¿Solías correr con ellas?	The group is women only.
Spain, talking to “you all” (vosotros)	¿Solíais correr con ellos?	Group addressed in Spain.
Latin America, talking to “you all” (ustedes)	¿Solían correr con ellos?	Group addressed outside Spain.

Why The Imperfect Fits So Well

The imperfect is your friend for routines. It paints the action as ongoing or repeated in the past, not boxed into a single finished moment. That’s the same idea English expresses with “used to.” The RAE’s glossary definition of the imperfect points to its imperfective aspect and its link to past actions viewed in progress or as habitual. RAE glossary: pretérito imperfecto de indicativo

So if you keep hearing “imperfect for habits,” this sentence is a clean case where that rule pays off.

If you want a guided practice activity, the Instituto Cervantes publishes learner materials that drill the imperfect in context. Instituto Cervantes activity on pretérito imperfecto

Two Patterns To Memorize

• Imperfect alone: ¿Corrías con ellos?
• Soler + infinitive: ¿Solías correr con ellos?

Both are correct. Pick based on how explicit you want the “habit” signal to be.

Mini Cheat Sheet: Conjugations You’ll Actually Use

If you’re speaking, you don’t need full verb tables. You need the handful of forms that show up in questions and answers. Here are the ones that cover most situations.

Person	Soler + Correr	Imperfect Of Correr
yo	Yo solía correr con ellos.	Yo corría con ellos.
tú	¿Tú solías correr con ellos?	¿Tú corrías con ellos?
él / ella / usted	¿Solía correr con ellos?	¿Corría con ellos?
nosotros / nosotras	Nosotros solíamos correr con ellos.	Nosotros corríamos con ellos.
vosotros / vosotras	¿Solíais correr con ellos?	¿Corríais con ellos?
ustedes	¿Solían correr con ellos?	¿Corrían con ellos?

Short Add-Ons That Make Your Spanish Sound Natural

Once the core line is set, you can add small details that sound native without making the sentence bulky.

Add Frequency Without Making It Awkward

• ¿Solías correr con ellos cada mañana?
• ¿Corrías con ellos los fines de semana?

Add A Place With One Extra Chunk

• ¿Solías correr con ellos en el parque?
• ¿Corrías con ellos por el malecón?

Ask A Follow-Up That Gets The Story

• ¿Quién más iba?
• ¿Cómo era el ritmo?
• ¿Por qué lo dejaste?

Those follow-ups keep the conversation moving without forcing you to cram everything into the first question.

How To Answer If You’re On The Receiving End

People often ask this question as a way to reconnect: they’re checking whether you were part of a group, a club, or a routine. A short answer in the same tense keeps the exchange smooth.

• Sí, solía correr con ellos. (Yes, that was my routine.)
• No, yo corría solo. (No, I ran alone.)
• Corría con ellas cuando entrenábamos en verano. (I ran with them during a summer training period.)

If you want to sound natural, don’t repeat every detail right away. Give the yes or no, then add one extra piece: the place, the time, or the reason it changed.

A Simple Rule To Decide In Two Seconds

When you’re stuck between tenses, ask yourself one thing: “Is this about a repeated routine?” If yes, go imperfect. Then decide whether you want soler.

• Use imperfect alone when the habit is clear from context: ¿Corrías con ellos?
• Use soler when you want the habit to be unmistakable: ¿Solías correr con ellos?

If you’re writing dialogue, the imperfect-alone version often reads more natural. If you’re teaching, translating, or trying to match the English “used to” closely, soler is a clean fit.

Practice Lines You Can Steal

Read these out loud once or twice. Your mouth learns the rhythm fast, and then you can swap in new verbs later.

• ¿Solías entrenar con ellos?
• ¿Antes salías a correr con ellos?
• ¿Corrías con ellas cuando vivías allí?
• ¿Solían correr juntos o cada uno por su lado?