The conjugation of the Spanish verb poner, often translated as "to put" or "to place," is highly irregular. In order to help you understand and use this verb, this article includes poner conjugations in the present, past, conditional, and future indicative; the present and past subjunctive; the imperative, and other verb forms.
The same conjugation pattern is used for other verbs based on poner, such as componer, disponer, exponer, imponer, oponer, proponer, reponer and suponer.
Using the Verb Poner vs. Ponerse
The verb poner generally means "to put" or "to place," but its meaning can vary when used in some common expressions like poner la mesa (to set the table), or poner huevos (to lay eggs). It can also mean "to turn on," as in poner música (to play music on the radio) or "poner la televisión" (to turn the television on).
The verb poner can also be used reflexively —ponerse—. Ponerse can mean to put something on, such as clothing or accessories. For example, Juan se puso el abrigo y Ana se puso el sombrero (Juan put the coat on and Ana put the hat on). In addition, ponerse can mean "become" when referring to a change in state of being, such as ponerse triste (become sad), ponerse rojo (to become red in the face), ponerse flaco (to become skinny), etc.
Poner Present Indicative
In the present indicative tense, the first person singular (yo) conjugation of the verb poner is irregular, but the rest of the conjugations follow a regular verb pattern.
| Yo | pongo | I put | Yo pongo la mesa antes de la cena. |
| Tú | pones | You put | Tú pones el libro en la biblioteca. |
| Usted/él/ella | pone | You/he/she puts | Ella pone flores para decorar la casa. |
| Nosotros | ponemos | We put | Nosotros ponemos el dinero en el banco. |
| Vosotros | ponéis | You put | Vosotros ponéis la ropa en el armario. |
| Ustedes/ellos/ellas | ponen | You/they put | Ellos ponen mucho esfuerzo en su trabajo. |
Poner Preterite Indicative
The preterite tense conjugations of poner are irregular and use the stem pus-.
| Yo | puse | I put | Yo pusela mesa antes de la cena. |
| Tú | pusiste | You put | Tú pusisteel libro en la biblioteca. |
| Usted/él/ella | puso | You/he/she put | Ella pusoflores para decorar la casa. |
| Nosotros | pusimos | We put | Nosotros pusimosel dinero en el banco. |
| Vosotros | pusisteis | You put | Vosotros pusisteis la ropa en el armario. |
| Ustedes/ellos/ellas | pusieron | You/they put | Ellos pusieronmucho esfuerzo en su trabajo. |
Poner Imperfect Indicative
The verb poner is conjugated regularly in the imperfect tense. You start with the stem pon and add the imperfect ending for -er verbs (ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían). The imperfect tense can be translated as "was putting" or "used to put."
| Yo | ponía | I used to put | Yo poníala mesa antes de la cena. |
| Tú | ponías | You used to put | Tú poníasel libro en la biblioteca. |
| Usted/él/ella | ponía | You/he/she used to put | Ella ponía flores para decorar la casa. |
| Nosotros | poníamos | We used to put | Nosotros poníamosel dinero en el banco. |
| Vosotros | poníais | You used to put | Vosotros poníaisla ropa en el armario. |
| Ustedes/ellos/ellas | ponían | You/they used to put | Ellos poníanmucho esfuerzo en su trabajo. |
Poner Future Indicative
For the irregular conjugation of poner in the future indicative, change the stem to pondr-.
| Yo | pondré | I will put | Yo pondré la mesa antes de la cena. |
| Tú | pondrás | Youwill put | Tú pondrás el libro en la biblioteca. |
| Usted/él/ella | pondrá | You/he/shewill put | Ella pondrá flores para decorar la casa. |
| Nosotros | pondremos | Wewill put | Nosotros pondremos el dinero en el banco. |
| Vosotros | pondréis | Youwill put | Vosotros pondréisla ropa en el armario. |
| Ustedes/ellos/ellas | pondrán | You/theywill put | Ellos pondrán mucho esfuerzo en su trabajo. |
Poner PeriphrasticFuture Indicative
The periphrastic future is composed of the present indicative conjugation of the verb ir (to go), the preposition a, and the infinitive poner.
| Yo | voy a poner | I am going to put | Yo voy a ponerla mesa antes de la cena. |
| Tú | vasa poner | You aregoing to put | Tú vasa poner el libro en la biblioteca. |
| Usted/él/ella | vaa poner | You/he/shegoing to put | Ella vaa poner flores para decorar la casa. |
| Nosotros | vamosa poner | We aregoing to put | Nosotros vamos a poner el dinero en el banco. |
| Vosotros | vaisa poner | You aregoing to put | Vosotros vaisa poner la ropa en el armario. |
| Ustedes/ellos/ellas | vana poner | You/they aregoing to put | Ellos vana poner mucho esfuerzo en su trabajo. |
Poner Present Progressive/Gerund Form
To form the gerundor present participle, you start with the stem of the verb and then add the ending -ando (for -ar verbs) or -iendo (for -er and -ir verbs). The present participle is used to form progressive tenses like the present progressive, which is usually formed with the auxiliary verb estar, but can also use the verbs seguir, continuar or mantener as the auxiliary.
| Present Progressive ofPoner | está poniendo | is putting | Ella está poniendo flores para decorar la casa. |
Poner Past Participle
The past participle of poner is irregular —puesto—. This verb form can be used to form perfect tenses, such as the present perfect (with the auxiliary verb haber).
| Present Perfect of Poner | ha puesto | has put | Ella ha puesto flores para decorar la casa. |
Poner Conditional Indicative
To talk about possibilities, you can use the conditional tense, which is usually translated to English as "would + verb." Poner is also irregular in the conditional and uses the stem pondr-.
| Yo | pondría | I would put | Yo pondríala mesa antes de la cena si llegara a tiempo. |
| Tú | pondrías | Youwould put | Tú pondrías el libro en la biblioteca si hubiera espacio. |
| Usted/él/ella | pondría | You/he/shewould put | Ella pondría flores para decorar la casa, pero las flores están muy caras. |
| Nosotros | pondríamos | Wewould put | Nosotros pondríamos el dinero en el banco si nos ganáramos la lotería. |
| Vosotros | pondríais | Youwould put | Vosotros pondríais la ropa en el armario si fuerais más ordenados. |
| Ustedes/ellos/ellas | pondrían | You/theywould put | Ellos pondrían mucho esfuerzo en su trabajo, pero son perezosos. |
Poner Present Subjunctive
The present subjunctive is formed with the stem of the first person singular in the present indicative (yo pongo).
| Que yo | ponga | That I put | Mamá pide que yo ponga la mesa antes de la cena. |
| Que tú | pongas | That you put | El maestro quiere que tú pongas el libro en la biblioteca. |
| Que usted/él/ella | ponga | That you/he/she put | La decoradora recomienda que ella ponga flores para decorar la casa. |
| Que nosotros | pongamos | That we put | El contador sugiere que nosotros pongamos el dinero en el banco. |
| Que vosotros | pongáis | That you put | Papá pide que vosotros pongáis la ropa en el armario. |
| Que ustedes/ellos/ellas | pongan | That you/they put | La jefa espera que ellos pongan mucho esfuerzo en su trabajo. |
Poner Imperfect Subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive has two different conjugations. Both of them are correct.
Option 1
| Que yo | pusiera | That I put | Mamá pedía que yo pusiera la mesa antes de la cena. |
| Que tú | pusieras | That you put | El maestro sugería que tú pusieras el libro en la biblioteca. |
| Que usted/él/ella | pusiera | That you/he/she put | La decoradora recomendaba que ella pusiera flores para decorar la casa. |
| Que nosotros | pusiéramos | That we put | El contador sugería que nosotros pusiéramos el dinero en el banco. |
| Que vosotros | pusierais | That you put | Papá pedía que vosotros pusierais la ropa en el armario. |
| Que ustedes/ellos/ellas | pusieran | That you/they put | La jefa esperaba que ellos pusieran mucho esfuerzo en su trabajo. |
Option 2
| Que yo | pusiese | That I put | Mamá pedía que yo pusiese la mesa antes de la cena. |
| Que tú | pusieses | That you put | El maestro sugería que tú pusieses el libro en la biblioteca. |
| Que usted/él/ella | pusiese | That you/he/she put | La decoradora recomendaba que ella pusiese flores para decorar la casa. |
| Que nosotros | pusiésemos | That we put | El contador sugería que nosotros pusiésemosel dinero en el banco. |
| Que vosotros | pusieseis | That you put | Papá pedía que vosotros pusieseis la ropa en el armario. |
| Que ustedes/ellos/ellas | pusiesen | That you/they put | La jefa esperaba que ellos pusiesen mucho esfuerzo en su trabajo. |
Poner Imperative
The imperative mood is used to give orders or commands.
Positive Commands
| Tú | pon | Put! | ¡Pon el libro en la biblioteca! |
| Usted | ponga | Put! | ¡Ponga flores para decorar la casa! |
| Nosotros | pongamos | Let's put! | ¡Pongamos el dinero en el banco! |
| Vosotros | poned | Put! | ¡Poned la ropa en el armario! |
| Ustedes | pongan | Put! | ¡Pongan mucho esfuerzo en su trabajo! |
Negative Commands
| Tú | no pongas | Don't put! | ¡No pongas el libro en la biblioteca! |
| Usted | no ponga | Don't put! | ¡No ponga flores para decorar la casa! |
| Nosotros | no pongamos | Let's not put! | ¡No pongamos el dinero en el banco! |
| Vosotros | no pongáis | Don't put! | ¡No pongáis la ropa en el armario! |
| Ustedes | no pongan | Don't put! | ¡No pongan mucho esfuerzo en su trabajo! |
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Erichsen, Gerald. "Spanish Verb Poner Conjugation." ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/conjugation-of-poner-3079639.Erichsen, Gerald. (2020, August 27). Spanish Verb Poner Conjugation. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/conjugation-of-poner-3079639Erichsen, Gerald. "Spanish Verb Poner Conjugation." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/conjugation-of-poner-3079639 (accessed September 13, 2022).
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FAQs
What is the irregular form of poner? ›
The past participle is used to create the perfect tense, and it is irregular for the verb poner. It is puesto.
Is poner a regular or irregular verb? ›The verb poner is irregular in some forms and tenses.
Is poner irregular in past tense? ›Poner is conjugated as an irregular verb in the preterite tense. Poner appears on the 100 Most Used Spanish Preterite Tense Verbs Poster as the 7th most used irregular verb.
Is poner irregular in present tense? ›The verbs hacer, poner, and valer are all regular – er verbs with an irregular yo form that ends in – go.
How do you conjugate poner in the imperfect? ›...
Mode: Indicative.
| Personal Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Yo | ponía |
| Tu | ponías |
| El/Ella | ponía |
| Nosotros | poníamos |
- Yo pongo = I put.
- Tú pones = You put.
- Él/ella/Ud. pone = He or she puts.
- Nosotros ponemos = We put.
- Vosotro ponéis = You all put.
- Ellos/ellas/Uds. ponen = They put.
PONERSE (REFLEXIVE)
The reflexive version of poner is used much more often. It can refer to a literal placing (from putting clothes on yourself to putting yourself in a physical place) or it can refer to an emotional state (putting yourself in a certain mood or putting you on/off).
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Tú | puedes | you are able to |
| Ella / Él / Usted | puede | s/he is able to, you (formal) are able to |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | podemos | we are able to |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | podéis | you (plural) are able to |
Poner – to put – is one of the most common irregular Spanish verbs. It's generally used just like its English equivalent. Pongo muchos jalapeños en mi salsa.
What does poner mean in preterite? ›Definition. to put, place, set.
How do you use poner? ›
- to put.
- to set up.
- to give.
- to add.
- to put on (clothing)
- to become/get + adjective.
- to set yourself to do something (ponerse a + verb)
- to set up/open a business.
| Verb | Preterite Stem | Irregular Endings |
|---|---|---|
| estar | estuv- | yo estuve, tu estuviste, él estuvo, nosotros estuvimos, vosotros estuvisteis, ellos estuvieron |
| tener | tuv- | yo tuve, él tuvo |
| poder | pud- | yo pude, él pudo |
| hacer | hic- (most subjects), hiz- (third person singular) | yo hice, él hizo |
Common irregular verbs in the present tense
The three most irregular are avoir (to have), être (to be) and aller (to go) and are perhaps the most crucial to know, since they are used to form other tenses.
In total there are over 270 irregular verbs in the Spanish language. Which means just over 1/3rd of all Spanish verbs are irregular.
What is the affirmative tu form of poner? ›...
Lesson Summary.
| Subject Pronoun | Poner Command |
|---|---|
| tú | pon |
| usted | ponga |
| nosotros nosotras | pongamos |
| vosotros vosotras | poned |
Tener is a stem changing verb. The stem of tener is ten. We get the stem of Spanish verbs by eliminating the endings “ar”, “er” or “ir”. At times, the stem ten changes to tien or tuv.
What is the gerund of poner? ›The verb 'poner' means 'to put' but as usual can have a few different meanings depending on how you use it.
What is the difference between levantar and Levantarse? ›In this case the verb levantar means "to lift" or "to raise up". If you make that reflexive, where the lifter and the thing being lifted are the same, it's "to lift yourself". And essentially "lifting yourself" is getting up. That's why levantarse is translated as "to get up".
How do you conjugate Ponerse in yo form? ›...
Lesson Summary.
| Subject Pronoun | Preterite Conjugation | Imperative |
|---|---|---|
| yo | me puse | --- |
| tú | te pusiste | ponte |
| él/ella usted | se puso | --- póngase |
| nosotros/ nosotras | nos pusimos | pongámonos |
What is the past participle of poder? ›
Poder Conjugation: Verbals
The infinitive form of the verb is poder. The past participle of poder is podido. The gerund form of poder is pudiendo.
...
Mode: Indicative.
| Personal Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Yo | puedo |
| Tu | puedes |
| El/Ella | puede |
| Nosotros | podemos |
Cantar Preterite Tense Conjugation - Spanish Preterite Tense Verb Conjugation - Conjugate Cantar in Spanish Preterite Tense. Cantar is a Spanish verb meaning to sing. Cantar is conjugated as a regular ar verb in the preterite tense.
What is the future tense of poner? ›| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | pondré | I will put |
| Tú | pondrás | you will put |
| Ella / Él / Usted | pondrá | s/he will put, you (formal) will put |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | pondremos | we will put |
The construction poner(se) a + infinitivo, prevalent in spoken Spanish, is used to mean to begin/start doing [something], to get something/someone to do [something], to set about doing [something] or to get on with [something]. This verb can be used as either a reflexive verb or a transitive verb.
Is poner irregular verb Spanish? ›Poner is a Spanish irregular verb meaning to put.
What are the 16 preterite irregular verbs? ›...
Here you have a list of irregular verbs and their stems in the preterite.
| Irregular Verb | Preterite Stem |
|---|---|
| poner | pus |
| saber | sup |
| tener | tuv |
| hacer | hic (exception: Él/Ella/Usted = hizo) |
There is a set of 12 verbs whose stems in the preterite are so different that they must be memorized. While they do not follow any discernible pattern they can be grouped together to make them a little easier to remember. The groups are based on a common letter or letter combination in the irregular stem.
How many preterite irregular verbs are there? ›Let's start with the list of the 50 irregular preterite verbs that you'll learn to use and conjugate today. This is simply a list of all of them in alphabetical order; later you'll learn more about them.
What is the definition of poner? ›The verb 'poner' means 'to put' but as usual can have a few different meanings depending on how you use it.
Does poner have a stem change? ›
Poner is irregular in the future tense, even though it still has all the same endings as regular -er verbs. The irregularity lies in the fact that you have to change the verb stem from "pon-" to "pondr-."
What is the verb for Ponerse in Spanish? ›Ponerse means 'to put on,' but it can also be used in plenty of expressions, such as ponerse contento (to become/be happy) or ponerse en contacto (to get in contact).
What is the past participle of poder? ›Poder Conjugation: Verbals
The infinitive form of the verb is poder. The past participle of poder is podido. The gerund form of poder is pudiendo.
| yo | pongo | ponemos |
|---|---|---|
| tú | pones | ponéis |
| él, ella, Ud. | pone | ponen |
1. to put. When you first learn what poner means, you will learn to translate it as “to put”. In this way it is simply used to talk about where something is placed.
What is the difference between poner and Ponerse? ›PONERSE (REFLEXIVE)
The reflexive version of poner is used much more often. It can refer to a literal placing (from putting clothes on yourself to putting yourself in a physical place) or it can refer to an emotional state (putting yourself in a certain mood or putting you on/off).
Definition. to put, place, set.
What verb is puesto? ›Past participle of poner (“to put”); from Latin postus, from positus.
Is Despertarse a irregular verb? ›The verb despertarse is irregular in the present tense. It's stem changes from e → ie in all conjugations except for the nosotros and vosotros forms. Apart from these modifications in the present tense, despertarse is conjugated regularly in all other indicative forms.
What form is Ponga? ›
| inglés | ellos/ellas/ustedes | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | I put, am putting | pongan |
| Present Perfect | I have put, put | hayan puesto |
| Imperfect | I put, was putting | pusieran OR pusiesen. |
| Past Perfect - Pluperfect | I had put | hubieran puesto OR hubiesen puesto. |
...
Lesson Summary.
The subjunctive is a mood or way of expressing information which is not factual, but subjective, such as wishes, uncertainty, or possibilities. To conjugate poder in the present subjunctive, we need the irregular stem pued-, EXCEPT FOR nosotros/as and vosotros/as, which take the regular stem again.