Ponerse Conjugation: Preterite & Command

Meanings of Ponerse

First, let's take a look at the most common uses and meanings of ponerse.

For the last two expressions, use the structures:

• Ponerse + a + infinitive (to start doing something)
• Ponerse + adjective (to become/be)

Translation: To start studying

Now you're ready to learn its conjugation.

Preterite of Ponerse

We use the preterite to talk about finished actions in the past that normally happened once or momentarily. For example, if you want to say that yesterday you put on your favorite T-shirt or that your mom was delighted when you gave her the good news, use ponerse in the preterite.

Ponerse is irregular, and its preterite stem is quite different from the infinitive. In this tense, we need to use the stem pus-, to which we'll add the endings below.

Notice that ponerse is a reflexive verb, which means that we need to add the reflexive pronouns IN FRONT of every conjugated form. These pronouns are: me/te/se/nos/os/se.

Note: Spaniards use the form vosotros/as when addressing a group of people in an informal situation and ustedes in formal contexts. In the rest of the Spanish-speaking countries, everyone uses the form ustedes in any setting.

Examples Conversation

Laura and Carla should have studied for their exam on Friday, but they've been busy with other things.

Laura: ¿Te pusiste a estudiar? (Did you start studying?)

Carla: Bueno, me puse a ayudar a mi hermano con los deberes y luego fuimos a visitar a mi abuela. (Well, I started helping my brother with his homework and then we went to visit my grandma.) Se puso muy contenta al vernos. (She was very happy to see us.)

Al llegar a casa, nos pusimos el pijama y vimos una película. (When we arrived home, we put on the pajamas and we watched a movie.) ¿Y tú? (And you?)

Laura: Mi hermana y yo nos pusimos a hacer galletas y otras cosas en casa. (My sister and I started baking cookies and doing other things at home.)

Carla: Así que tampoco se pusieron a estudiar. (So you (both) didn't start studying either.)

Laura: No, pero esta tarde empiezo. (No, but I'll start this evening.)

Translation: My grandmother was happy to see us.

Imperative of Ponerse

We use the imperative to give affirmative orders or commands, but also to make suggestions.

In this case, we need two different stems. We'll use the irregular stem (pong-) for all subject pronouns, EXCEPT FOR tú and vosotros/as, which keep the regular stem (pon-).

Note: When a verb is reflexive, its imperative forms have the pronouns ATTACHED at the end, making a single word, and not in front, as in the rest of the tenses.

Subject Pronoun	Imperative	Pronunciation	Translation
tú	ponte	(POHN-teh)	(you) put on/start/be
usted	póngase	(POHN-gah-SEH)	(you - formal) put on/start/be
nosotros/ nosotras	pongámonos	(pohn-GAH-moh-nohs)	(we) let's put on/start/be
vosotros/ vosotras	poneos	(poh-NEH-ohs)	(you all) put on/start/be
ustedes	pónganse	(POHN-gahn-SEH)	(you all) put on/start/be

Examples of Commands

Laura is about to leave her house, and she hears her mom talking to her siblings.

• ¡Niños, pónganse a hacer los deberes ya! (Kids, start doing your homework now!) Dentro de un rato vamos a cenar. (We're having dinner in a while.)

She addresses Laura as well:

• ¡Laura, ponte el abrigo si vas a salir! (Put on your coat if you're going out!)

Her phone rings and Laura guesses it's someone from work because her mom says:

• Póngase en contacto con el director de proyectos mañana, por favor. (Please get in contact with the project manager tomorrow.) Ahora le doy su número de teléfono. (I'll give you his number right now.)

In the meanwhile, Laura's sister tells her brother:

• Pongámonos a hacer los deberes en el salón. (Let's start doing homework in the living room.)

Translation: Get in contact with the director.

Lesson Summary

In this lesson, we have learned about the Spanish verb ponerse, which means 'to put on' or 'to move,' but it can be used in lots of expressions such as:

• Ponerse + a + infinitive (to start doing something)
• Ponerse + adjective (to become/be)

Now you knownow how to conjugate this verb in the preterite to talk about finished actions in the past.

You are also able to give affirmative commands and make suggestions with its imperative forms.

VERB: ponerse (poh-NEHR-seh) - to put on/start/be

Subject Pronoun	Preterite Conjugation	Imperative
yo	me puse	---
tú	te pusiste	ponte
él/ella usted	se puso	--- póngase
nosotros/ nosotras	nos pusimos	pongámonos
vosotros/ vosotras	os pusisteis	poneos
ellos/ellas ustedes	se pusieron	--- pónganse