poner

See also: poñer

Aragonese

Etymology

Inherited from Latin pōnere, from Proto-Italic *pozinō. Same usage as Catalan pondre and Occitan pondre.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /poˈne(ɾ)/
Syllabification: po‧ner
Rhymes: -e(ɾ)

Verb

poner

(transitive) to lay (an egg)
(reflexive) to set (sun)

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin pōnere.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /poˈneɾ/ [poˈneɾ]
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -eɾ
Syllabification: po‧ner

Verb

poner

to put

Conjugation

Conjugation of poner

person		first singular yo	second singular tu	third singular él/elli	first plural nosotros/nós	second plural vosotros/vós	third plural ellos
infinitive		poner
gerundive		poniendo
participle		m puestu, f puesta, n puesto, m pl puestos, f pl puestes
indicative	present	pongo	pones	pon	ponemos	ponéis	ponen
	imperfect	ponía	poníes	ponía	poníamos/poníemos	poníais/poníeis	poníen
	preterite	punxi	punxesti/punxisti	punxo	punxemos/punximos	punxestis/punxistis	punxeron
	pluperfect	punxera/punxere	punxeras/punxeres	punxera/punxere	punxéramos/punxéremos	punxerais/punxereis	punxeran/punxeren
	future	pondré	pondrás	pondrá	pondremos	pondréis	pondrán
	conditional	pondría	pondríes	pondría	pondríamos/pondríemos	pondríais/pondríeis	pondríen
subjunctive	present	ponga	pongas	ponga	pongamos	pongáis	pongan
subjunctive	imperfect	punxera/punxere	punxeras/punxeres	punxera/punxere	punxéramos/punxéremos	punxerais/punxereis	punxeran/punxeren
imperative			pon			ponéi

Derived terms

Related terms

Interlingua

Etymology

From Latin pōnere (“to put, place”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /poˈner/

Verb

poner

to put

Conjugation

Conjugation of *poner*
participle		present	perfect
infinitive		poner
participle		ponente	ponite

active		simple	perfect
	present	pone	ha ponite
	past	poneva	habeva ponite
	future	ponera	habera ponite
	conditional	ponerea	haberea ponite
	imperative	pone	—

passive		simple	perfect
	present	es ponite	ha essite ponite
	past	esseva ponite	habeva essite ponite
	future	essera ponite	habera essite ponite
	conditional	esserea ponite	haberea essite ponite
	imperative	sia ponite	—

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep

Proto-Indo-European *-o

Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó

Proto-Indo-European *h₂pó

Proto-Italic *po

Proto-Indo-European *teḱ-

Proto-Indo-European *-éyti

Proto-Indo-European *tḱéytibf.

Proto-Indo-European *tḱey-

Proto-Indo-European *-né-

Proto-Indo-European *-ti

Proto-Indo-European *tḱinéti

Proto-Italic *sinō

Proto-Italic *pozinō

Latin pono

Spanish poner

Inherited from Latin pōnere (whence English post and position), from Proto-Italic *pozinō. Compare Portuguese pôr and Romanian pune.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /poˈneɾ/ [poˈneɾ]
Audio (Colombia): (file)
Rhymes: -eɾ
Syllabification: po‧ner

Verb

poner (first-person singular present pongo, first-person singular preterite puse, past participle puesto)

(transitive or ditransitive) to put, to place (cause to assume a specified position)
Pon el lápiz en la mesa. ― Put the pencil on the table.

Te pongo la caja por acá. ― I'll put the box here for you.

¿Dónde te pongo la maleta? ― Where should I put your suitcase?
(transitive) to write
Pon tu nombre en el papel. ― Put your name on the paper.

Esta palabra está mal puesta. ― This word is spelled/written wrong.
(transitive) to type (with a keyboard, etc.), (with a dative object) to send
En un tweet, Fulanito puso que le gusta pasear.
In a tweet, Fulanito wrote that he likes taking walks.

Le puse un emoji llorando a mi amiga. ― I sent my friend a crying emoji.

Por el correo le puse que estoy ocupado. ― I emailed them saying I'm busy.
(transitive or ditransitive) to attach, to assign (also in an abstract sense)
Ponerle una banda sonora a las películas añade emoción.
Adding a soundtrack to movies adds emotion.

En 2020, muchos países pusieron restricciones al turismo.
In 2020, many countries imposed restrictions on tourism.

Nos faltan bolas para ponerle al árbol de Navidad.
We don't have enough balls to put on the Christmas tree.
(transitive or ditransitive) to give, to provide
Para beber qué te pongo? ― What can I get you to drink?

Carlos pone la casa, yo pongo los refrescos.
Carlos is hosting, I'm bringing the drinks. (Carlos is providing the house, I'm providing the drinks)

No pongas excusas. ― Don't make excuses.

Permítanme ponerles un ejemplo. ― Let me give you an example.
(with adjectives that use estar or verbs) (transitive) to put (cause to assume a specified state), (reflexive) to become, to get, to put oneself in a specified state
La ciudad de Providence ya puso en efecto la prohibición temporal de estacionamiento durante la tormenta hasta nuevo aviso.
The city of Providence has put into effect the temporary storm parking ban until further notice.

Pon estos números de menor a mayor. ― Put these numbers in order from least to greatest.

Me estás poniendo nerviosa. ― You're making me nervous.

Pongan la música más alta. ― Turn up the music.

Puse al niño a trabajar. ― I put the boy to work.

Mi ex-esposa manipuladora puso a mis propios amigos en mi contra.
My manipulative ex-wife turned my own friends against me.

Necesitamos ponerlos de nuestra parte. ― We need to get them on our side.

Cuando viajes en avión, pon el celular en modo avión.
When you travel by plane, put your phone in airplane mode.

¡Ponte de rodillas! ― Get on your knees!

No me gusta ponerme en frente de la cámara.
I don't like getting in front of the camera.

Se pone agresiva cuando alguien la toca. ― She gets aggressive when anyone touches her.

Se puso muy enfermo después de comerse la comida descompuesta.
He got very sick after eating the rotten food.

El jamón se puso seco. ― The ham turned dry.

Ponte guapa para la fiesta. ― Smarten up for the party.

No te pongas en peligro. ― Do not put yourself in harm's way.

Nos pondremos en contacto a la brevedad. ― We'll get in contact (with you) shortly.
(ditransitive) to pay (attention)
Synonym: prestar

¡Pon atención a la clase! ― Pay attention to class!
(transitive) to prepare
poner la mesa ― set the table

Pon una alarma para las 3 de la tarde. ― Set an alarm for 3 PM.
(transitive or reflexive) to turn on, activate (an appliance, light, a mechanism, a functionality etc.).
poner la luz ― turn on the lights

poner la tele ― turn on the TV

poner la lavadora ― turn on the washing machine

poner el/la radio ― turn on the radio

Mi alarma de las 3 de la tarde no se puso. ― My 3 PM alarm didn't go off (activate).
(transitive) to play, put on (a recording, a song, a video etc.), put, display (an image)
¡Pongan bachata! ― Put on some bachata!

Ya se puso la canción en el radio dos veces.
The song already played on the radio twice.

Si Pedro pone la música demasiado fuerte, se va a quedar sordo.
If Pedro plays music too loud, he will end up deaf.

Ahora pondré tres imágenes en pantalla. ― Now I will put three images on screen.
(transitive) to lay (eggs)
La gallina puso un huevo. ― The hen laid an egg.
(transitive, optionally impersonal) (of something on which something is written) to say, to read (indicate in written form)
Synonym: decir

El letrero pone que está prohibido fumar. ― The sign says smoking is not allowed.

En el letrero pone que está prohibido fumar.
On the sign it says smoking is not allowed.
(ditransitive) to name, to give a nickname
Synonyms: nombrar, bautizar, apodar

Le voy a poner Rodrigo. ― I will name him Rodrigo.
(transitive or reflexive) to put on, to don, to change into (clothing, shoes, accoutrements)
Synonym: cabellar (wig)

Me puse las gafas. ― I put on my glasses.

Me puse un vestido muy lindo para la boda.
I put on a very pretty dress for the wedding.
(reflexive) (of a heavenly body) to set (i.e., to sink beneath the horizon)
Synonym: meter

Antonym: salir

¿A qué hora se pone el sol? ― What time does the sun set?
(reflexive) to start doing something, to begin, to get down to [with a (+ infinitive) or con (+ noun)]
Se sentaron a la mesa y se pusieron a hablar en voz alta.
They sat down at the table and started talking loudly.

Por lo tanto, es hora de ponernos a trabajar.
Therefore, it's time for us to get down to work.

Se puso a decirnos de las cosas que había visto.
He began telling us about the things he had seen.

Me pondré con ello inmediatamente. ― I'll get on it right away.
(Spain, colloquial, transitive) to turn on, make horny
Me pones mucho. ― You really turn me on.

Usage notes

Hacerse, convertirse en, ponerse, quedar(se), volverse, and pasar a ser/estar can all be translated with English become. Here is how to use them:
- Hacerse, convertirse en, and volverse are used with words that use ser. Convertirse en is only used with nouns, while hacerse and volverse can be used with both nouns and adjectives:

La empresa se hizo muy conocida en los últimos meses. (Es muy conocida.)

The company became very well-known in the last few months. (It is very well-known.)

Él se hizo bombero. (Es bombero.)

He became a firefighter. (He is a firefighter.)

La canción se convirtió en uno de los mayores éxitos de la historia. (Es uno de los mayores éxitos.)

The song became one of the biggest hits in history. (It is one of the biggest hits.)

El fútbol no se volvió muy popular en Estados Unidos. (No es muy popular.)

Football/soccer didn't become very popular in the United States. (It is not very popular.)

Mi hermano se volvió doctor. (Es doctor.)

Mi brother became a doctor. (He is a doctor.)

El cantante se volvió un loco antivaxxer. (loco is a noun meaning crazy person which uses ser)

The singer turned into a crazy antivaxxer.

Mi hija se volvió muy lista a los 10 años. (listo is an adjective with ser)

My daughter got really smart when she was 10.

On the other hand, ponerse and quedar(se) are used with adjectives that use estar. Quedar(se) focuses more on the result of something:

Me quedé calvo. (calvo is an adjective here) ― I got bald (due to old age, etc.).

Me puse calvo. ― I shaved my head.

Me quedé rojo.

I turned red/blushed (puts more emphasis on the fact that it's a result of something, practically interchangeable with "me puse rojo").

Me puse rojo.

I turned red/blushed. (almost synonymous, could theoretically also be used if you could consciously blush)

Me quedé contento. ― I got happy (as a result of that, sounds more like a reaction).

Me puse contento. ― I got happy (sounds more voluntary).

Some adjectives have their own verbs: aburrirse instead of "ponerse aburrido", enojarse instead of "ponerse enojado", etc.

Pasar a ser/estar is synonymous with all of these verbs and can in theory be used with any word, but it is more restricted in usage.

Hacer, convertir en, poner, and volver can also be used transitively with a sense of "turn something into something else", "make something (adjective)", or "make something do something else".

Conjugation

Conjugation of poner (irregular) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

		singular			plural
infinitive			poner
gerund			poniendo
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		puesto		puesta
		plural		puestos		puestas
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	pongo	pones^{^tú} ponés^{^vos}	pone	ponemos	ponéis	ponen
	imperfect	ponía	ponías	ponía	poníamos	poníais	ponían
	preterite	puse	pusiste	puso	pusimos	pusisteis	pusieron
	future	pondré	pondrás	pondrá	pondremos	pondréis	pondrán
	conditional	pondría	pondrías	pondría	pondríamos	pondríais	pondrían

subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	ponga	pongas^{^tú} pongás^{^vos²}	ponga	pongamos	pongáis	pongan
	imperfect (ra)	pusiera	pusieras	pusiera	pusiéramos	pusierais	pusieran
	imperfect (se)	pusiese	pusieses	pusiese	pusiésemos	pusieseis	pusiesen
	future¹	pusiere	pusieres	pusiere	pusiéremos	pusiereis	pusieren

imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		pon^{^tú} poné^{^vos}	ponga	pongamos	poned	pongan
	negative		no pongas	no ponga	no pongamos	no pongáis	no pongan

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

Selected combined forms of poner (irregular)

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive poner	dative	ponerme	ponerte	ponerle, ponerse	ponernos	poneros	ponerles, ponerse
with infinitive poner	accusative	ponerme	ponerte	ponerlo, ponerla, ponerse	ponernos	poneros	ponerlos, ponerlas, ponerse

with gerund poniendo	dative	poniéndome	poniéndote	poniéndole, poniéndose	poniéndonos	poniéndoos	poniéndoles, poniéndose
with gerund poniendo	accusative	poniéndome	poniéndote	poniéndolo, poniéndola, poniéndose	poniéndonos	poniéndoos	poniéndolos, poniéndolas, poniéndose

with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative pon	dative	ponme	ponte	ponle	ponnos	not used	ponles
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative pon	accusative	ponme	ponte	ponlo, ponla	ponnos	not used	ponlos, ponlas

with informal second-person singular voseo imperative poné	dative	poneme	ponete	ponele	ponenos	not used	poneles
	accusative	poneme	ponete	ponelo, ponela	ponenos	not used	ponelos, ponelas

with formal second-person singular imperative ponga	dative	póngame	not used	póngale, póngase	pónganos	not used	póngales
with formal second-person singular imperative ponga	accusative	póngame	not used	póngalo, póngala, póngase	pónganos	not used	póngalos, póngalas

with first-person plural imperative pongamos	dative	not used	pongámoste	pongámosle	pongámonos	pongámoos	pongámosles
with first-person plural imperative pongamos	accusative	not used	pongámoste	pongámoslo, pongámosla	pongámonos	pongámoos	pongámoslos, pongámoslas

with informal second-person plural imperative poned	dative	ponedme	not used	ponedle	ponednos	poneos	ponedles
with informal second-person plural imperative poned	accusative	ponedme	not used	ponedlo, ponedla	ponednos	poneos	ponedlos, ponedlas

with formal second-person plural imperative pongan	dative	pónganme	not used	pónganle	póngannos	not used	pónganles, pónganse
with formal second-person plural imperative pongan	accusative	pónganme	not used	pónganlo, pónganla	póngannos	not used	pónganlos, pónganlas, pónganse

Conjugation of ponerse (irregular) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

		singular			plural
infinitive			ponerse
gerund			poniéndose
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		puesto		puesta
		plural		puestos		puestas
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
personal non-finite		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	infinitive	ponerme	ponerte	ponerse	ponernos	poneros	ponerse
	gerund	poniéndome	poniéndote	poniéndose	poniéndonos	poniéndoos	poniéndose

indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	me pongo	te pones^{^tú} te ponés^{^vos}	se pone	nos ponemos	os ponéis	se ponen
	imperfect	me ponía	te ponías	se ponía	nos poníamos	os poníais	se ponían
	preterite	me puse	te pusiste	se puso	nos pusimos	os pusisteis	se pusieron
	future	me pondré	te pondrás	se pondrá	nos pondremos	os pondréis	se pondrán
	conditional	me pondría	te pondrías	se pondría	nos pondríamos	os pondríais	se pondrían

subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	me ponga	te pongas^{^tú} te pongás^{^vos²}	se ponga	nos pongamos	os pongáis	se pongan
	imperfect (ra)	me pusiera	te pusieras	se pusiera	nos pusiéramos	os pusierais	se pusieran
	imperfect (se)	me pusiese	te pusieses	se pusiese	nos pusiésemos	os pusieseis	se pusiesen
	future¹	me pusiere	te pusieres	se pusiere	nos pusiéremos	os pusiereis	se pusieren

imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		ponte^{^tú} ponete^{^vos}	póngase	pongámonos	poneos	pónganse
	negative		no te pongas	no se ponga	no nos pongamos	no os pongáis	no se pongan

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

poner

Aragonese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Asturian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

Interlingua

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Spanish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Usage notes

Conjugation

Derived terms

Related terms

See also

Further reading