Spanish Verb Oler – Conjugations and Uses

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Pilar Casanova – Spanish Tutor. “Spanish Verb Oler – Conjugations and Uses.” Lingua Linkup, 15 Dec. 2022, lingualinkup.com/oler-conjugation.

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Pilar Casanova – Spanish Tutor. (2022, December 15). Spanish Verb Oler – Conjugations and Uses. Lingua Linkup. https://lingualinkup.com/oler-conjugation/

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Pilar Casanova – Spanish Tutor. “Spanish Verb Oler – Conjugations and Uses.” Lingua Linkup, December 15, 2022. https://lingualinkup.com/oler-conjugation/.

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Translation: to smell; sniff out; to have a scent.

Oler(se) is irregular, it can be used as intransitive, pronominal or transitive. As a transitive verb, ‘to perceive [a smell]’ and ‘suspect or sense [something]’; as intransitive, ‘to expel an odor’ and, in impersonal sentences, ‘to be a certain smell in a place’.

Oler as impersonal, in the infinitive, is used in periphrases such as: Hay que oler los huevos antes de comprarlos. (You have to smell the eggs before buying them – metaphor)

Meanings of Verb Oler

• To perceive a smell. Example: Huelo su perfume a la distancia. (I smell her/his perfume in the distance).
• Transitive. Colloquial. To know or guess something that was hidden. Me huelo que no vendrá a la boda. (I suspect he/she is not coming to the wedding).
• Intransitive. Colloquial. To look or give signs of, pejorative connotation. Esta invitación huele a soborno. (This invitation smells like bribery).
• To try to identify a smell – El perro policía huele en busca de droga oculta. (The police dog smells searching for drugs.) Siempre huele el vino antes de tomarlo. (He always smells the wine before drinking it).
• To discover or suspect something. Me huelo que me hará un buen regalo. (I guess he’ll give me a really nice present).
• To try to find out something. Huelo los planes de mi padre. (I can smell my dad’s plans).
• To smell. La comida de hoy huele muy bien. (Today’s food smells really good).

Some examples

• Joaquín me hizo oler un pomito que traía en la mochila: Joaquín made me smell a tiny vial he had in his backpack.
• Este jabón huele a rosas: This soap smells lik roses.
• Pudimos oler su victoria desde el primer momento: We could smell his victory since the beginning.
• Debes oler muy bien todo el tiempo: You must always smell good.
• Si no podés oler estas muestras, vas a tener que salir del laboratorio: If you can not smell these samples, you’ll have to leave the laboratory.
• Esta investigación huele a podrido: This investigation smells rotten.
• No vayas a oler esos productos. Son muy fuertes: Do not smell those products. They are really strong.
• Olimos el pan casero de la panadería desde la otra cuadra: We could smell the home-made bread from the other block.
• Tuve que oler dos veces esta camisa antes de ponérmela: I had to smell this shirt twice before putting it on.
• No te olvides de siempre oler la verdura antes de comprarla: Never forget to smell the vegetables before buying them.
• Con solo oler el guiso de la abuela se me hace agua la boca: Just to smell grandma’s stew makes my mouth water.
• Tienes que oler las medias antes de ponértelas: You must smell your socks before putting them on.
• ¿Se te mojó la ropa por la lluvia? ¡Seguro que huele muy mal!: Are your clothes wet? They must stink!

Uses of Verb Oler

Oler is generally used with a direct object

• Con el viento adecuado, puede oler osos a una milla.
• Tendrás que oler las flores del jardín sin dudas.
• No pienso oler la litera del gatito todo el tiempo.
• Es hora de despertar y oler el café.

It can also be used figuratively.

• La casa olía a dinero. The house smelled like money.
• Se siente muy bien oler el cambio en Rusia. It feels great to smell change in Russia.
• Sí, todo lo que puedes oler en el aire es oro. Yes, all you can smell in the air is gold.
• Se puede oler su ADN aristocrático desde aquí. You can smell its aristocratic DNA from here.

To describe how something smells, you can use oler a (to smell like)

• El coche olía a gasolina. (The car smells likegasoline)
• Desde que comencé a amamantar a mi bebé siento que huelo a vaca. (Since I started breastfeeding my baby, I smell like a cow)
• Tu casa huele a tabaco. (Your house smells like tobacco)
• No huelo a perfumes baratos. (I don’t smell like cheap perfume)

Intransitively, oler refers to the capability of smelling

• Cuando tuve COVID no podía oler. (When I had COVID, I couldn’t smell)

The reflexive form is also used to express suspicion

• Me lo olía yo desde el finde. (I could sense it since the weekend)

Most typical spelling mistakes

These are just some of the most frequent spelling mistakes in writing the word oler. We’ll show you the correct form:

• ✅ oler ❌ holer
• ✅ oler ❌ olerr

The right way of writing the word is oler ✅. Some words do not exist in Spanish, or can even get a different meaning if a single letter is changed. Do also consider that some words may be spelled differently according to their context.

Conjugation of the Verb Oler

Indicative Mood

Present

Past Imperfect

Past Indefinite

Future

Subjunctive Mood

Present

Future

Past Imperfect

Conditional Mood

Imperative Mood

Affirmative

Negative

Spanish Verb Oler Quiz/Worksheet

A. Write three sentences with forms of the verb oler that begin with hue-.”

1. _______________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________________

B. Complete the sentences with the correct verb conjugation of the verb oler:

1. _____________ el aroma de mi casa por las rosas del jardín. I smell the scent of my house through the roses in the garden.
2. Nunca he __________ algo tan feo. I have never smelled anything so bad.
3. Necesito _____________ el perfume para ver si me queda bien. I need to smell the perfume to see if it fits.
4. La comida de mi madre siempre _________ deliciosa. My mother’s food always smells delicious.
5. No _________________ nada ayer por el resfriado. I didn’t smell anything yesterday because of the cold.
6. Este asunto ___________________ raro, Pablo no es de fiar. This matter smells funny, Pablo is not to be trusted.
7. Siempre que está por llover _____________ a flores húmedas. Whenever it is about to rain it smells like wet flowers.
8. No _______________ a nada de tan limpias que estaban. They didn’t smell of anything because they were so clean.
9. No (ustedes) _______________ esos químicos, son muy tóxicos. Don’t smell those chemicals, they are very toxic.
10. ¿Podés __________ la salsa? Quiero estar seguro de que ya está a punto. Can you smell the sauce? I want to be sure it is ready.

Answers

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1. huelo
2. olido
3. oler
4. huele
5. olía
6. huele
7. huele
8. olían
9. huelan
10. oler

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