Poner: A Spanish Verb of Many Meanings

The Spanish verb poner is one of those verbs that can be difficult to translate. It has a wide variety of meanings — just as does the English verb "put," which is perhaps the verb's most common translation into English.

Originally, poner conveyed the idea of placing something somewhere. However, its meaning has expanded over the centuries to include abstract concepts such as the "placement" of ideas or concepts or bringing about various kinds of changes. It is often used in the reflexive form (ponerse).

Keep in mind that poner is conjugated highly irregularly. Irregularities occur in both the stem and the endings.

Meanings of Poner

Following are some of the meanings of poner, along with sample sentences, that can be ascribed to poner. This list is not complete.

Note that many of the English translations could have been made using "put"; in practice, you often can do the same. Alternative verbs have been used to convey the idea that poner has many meanings.

Placing Objects or Arranging

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Spanish Verb Poner Conjugation

By Gerald Erichsen

• Siempre pone las llaves en el escritorio. (He always puts the keys on the desk.)
• Todos los días sale de su casa a las 8:30 de la mañana y pone el teléfono celular en la consola de su auto. (Every day she leaves her house at 8:30 a.m. and places her cell phone on the console of her car.)
• Puso la mesa para la mañana siguiente. (He set the table for the next morning.)

Putting on Clothing

• Se pondrá la camisa que más le guste en ese momento. (He will put on the shirt he likes most at the time.)
• Al llegar a la piscina me puse las gafas. (When I arrived at the swimming pool I put on my goggles.)

Investing or Contributing Money

• Si ponemos 1000 pesos, en un año recibimos 1030. (If we invest 1,000 pesos, in a year we will receive 1,030.)
• Puso tres dólares en el juego de La Rueda de la Fortuna en el casino. She gambled $3 on the Wheel of Fortune game at the casino.

Effecting Change

• Puso el coche en revés. (He put the car in reverse.)
• Las elecciones pusieron fin a la revolución. (The elections put an end to the revolution.)
• La lesión del hombro me ponía en un aprieto. (My shoulder injury put me in a bind.)
• Si hay algo que la ponía de mal humor era el verano, el calor. (If there is something that put her in a bad mood, it was the summer, the heat.)
• Pusieron la casa en venta cuando se mudaron a Los Ángeles. (They put the house up for sale when they moved to Los Angeles.)

Becoming

• Se puso muy triste. (He became very sad.)
• Akira se puso azul por momentos y casi devuelve lo que había comido en una semana. (Akira turned blue for a short time and almost threw up what she had eaten during the week.)

Designating

• Sí, es verdad que le pusieron Pablo Pingüino. (Yes, it's true they called him Pablo Pingüino.)
• El Departamento de Justicia puso dos millones de dólares como precio por la cabeza de Benjamín. (The Justice Department set $2 million as the price for Benjamin's capture.)

Showing or Displaying

• ¿Qué ponen esta noche en la tele? (What is on TV tonight? Literally, what are they showing on TV tonight?)
• ¿Tienes una gran foto? ¡Ponla en tu sitio web! (Do you have a great photo? Show it on your website!)

Phrases Using Poner

In addition to having a wide variety of meanings on its own, poner is part of various phrases and idioms whose meanings aren't always obvious. Here are some of the common ones:

• Poner bien a alguien (to have a high opinion of someone) — Como era el más inteligente de los tres, me ponían bien. (Because I was the smartest of the three, they thought highly of me.)
• Poner en claro (to make clear) — Con su permiso, pondré en claro el concepto de inflación. (With your permission I'll make the concept of inflation clear.)
• Poner en marcha (to start) — Luego, puse el coche en marcha. (Later, I started the car.)
• Poner en juego (to put in danger) — La guerra pone en juego el futuro de la ONU. (The war puts the future of the U.N. in danger.)
• Poner en riesgo (to put at risk) — El mal tiempo puso en riesgo el helicóptero en el que viajaba el presidente. (The bad weather put the helicopter that the president traveled in at risk.)
• Poner huevo (to lay an egg) — Tengo dos canarias hembra que no ponen huevos. (I have two female canaries that don't lay eggs.)
• Poner pegas (to object) — Nunca ponía pegas a nada. Todo lo parecía bien. (I never objected to anything. Everything seemed fine.)
• Poner por encima (to prefer) — Ponían el negocio por encima de todo. (They made business their highest priority.)
• Ponerse colorado or ponerse rojo (to be embarrassed or ashamed, to blush, to turn red) — Era muy tímido. Si alguien me decía algo me ponía rojo y sudaba. I was very shy. (If someone told me something I would blush and sweat.)
• Ponerse de pie (to stand up) — Se puso de pie y golpeó el escritorio con el puño. (He stood up and pounded the desk with his fist.)
• Ponerse de rodillas (to kneel, to fall to one's knees) — El jardinero se puso de rodillas, implorando el perdón de su imprudencia. (The gardener fell to his knees, begging forgiveness for his carelessness.)