Ponerse Conjugation | How to Conjugate Ponerse in Spanish

Ponerse means “to put on,” “to become,” “to get into a state,” or “to start doing something.” You will learn its irregular families with full pronominal placement.

Ponerse conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Ponerse is pronominal and highly irregular. Core anchors are me pongo, me puse, me pondré, me ponga, me pusiera, me pusiere, poniéndose, puesto.

Ponerse gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The pronominal infinitive keeps se. The gerund can carry an attached clitic, and compound non-finite forms combine the clitic with haber. The participle puesto remains invariant in compound forms.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	ponerse	to put on / become
Gerund	poniéndose	putting on / becoming
Past participle	puesto	put on / become
Compound infinitive	haberse puesto	to have put on / become
Compound gerund	habiéndose puesto	having put on / become

Ponerse meaning and essential uses

RAE explicitly records ponerse for acquiring a state or condition, as in ponerse pálido, and for dressing or putting clothing on.

RAE also records ponerse a + infinitive for beginning an action. Other frequent patterns include ponerse de pie, ponerse nervioso, and ponerse en contacto.

Ponerse irregular conjugation patterns and pronoun placement

Ponerse has several irregular families: me pongo, preterite me puse / se puso, future/conditional pondr-, subjunctive pong-, and past/future subjunctive pusier-.

Affirmative commands are ponte, póngase, pongámonos, poneos, pónganse. Negative commands keep the clitic before the subjunctive: no te pongas / no os pongáis.

Ponerse indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Ponerse present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. First-person singular inherits irregular pongo; the remaining present forms use pon-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me pongo	I put on / become
Tú — you, singular informal	te pones	you put on / become
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se pone	he / she puts on / becomes; you put on / become (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos ponemos	we put on / become
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os ponéis	you put on / become (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se ponen	they put on / become; you put on / become (plural)

• Me pongo una chaqueta cuando hace frío. — I put on a jacket when it is cold.

Ponerse preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. Preterite uses the irregular pus- family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me puse	I put on / became
Tú — you, singular informal	te pusiste	you put on / became
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se puso	he / she put on / became; you put on / became (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos pusimos	we put on / became
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os pusisteis	you put on / became (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se pusieron	they put on / became; you put on / became (plural)

• Ayer me puse nervioso antes de hablar. — Yesterday I became nervous before speaking.

Ponerse imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant puesto.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me ponía	I used to put on / become / was putting on / becoming
Tú — you, singular informal	te ponías	you used to put on / become / were putting on / becoming
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se ponía	he / she used to put on / become / was putting on / becoming; you used to put on / become / were putting on / becoming (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos poníamos	we used to put on / become / were putting on / becoming
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os poníais	you used to put on / become / were putting on / becoming (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se ponían	they used to put on / become / were putting on / becoming; you used to put on / become / were putting on / becoming (plural)

• Antes me ponía música para estudiar. — I used to put on music to study.

Ponerse present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. The main table places the clitic before estar. Enclisis is also standard: estoy poniéndome.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me estoy poniendo	I am putting on / becoming
Tú — you, singular informal	te estás poniendo	you are putting on / becoming
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se está poniendo	he / she is putting on / becoming; you are putting on / becoming (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos estamos poniendo	we are putting on / becoming
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os estáis poniendo	you are putting on / becoming (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se están poniendo	they are putting on / becoming; you are putting on / becoming (plural)

• Me estoy poniendo la chaqueta. — I am putting on the jacket.

Ponerse near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. The main table places the clitic before ir. Attaching it to the infinitive is also standard: voy a ponerme.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me voy a poner	I am going to put on / become
Tú — you, singular informal	te vas a poner	you are going to put on / become
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se va a poner	he / she is going to put on / become; you are going to put on / become (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos vamos a poner	we are going to put on / become
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os vais a poner	you are going to put on / become (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se van a poner	they are going to put on / become; you are going to put on / become (plural)

• Me voy a poner de pie. — I am going to stand up.

Ponerse future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. Future uses the irregular stem pondr-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me pondré	I will put on / become
Tú — you, singular informal	te pondrás	you will put on / become
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se pondrá	he / she will put on / become; you will put on / become (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos pondremos	we will put on / become
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os pondréis	you will put on / become (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se pondrán	they will put on / become; you will put on / become (plural)

• Nos pondremos en contacto mañana. — We will get in touch tomorrow.

Ponerse conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. Conditional uses the irregular stem pondr-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me pondría	I would put on / become
Tú — you, singular informal	te pondrías	you would put on / become
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se pondría	he / she would put on / become; you would put on / become (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos pondríamos	we would put on / become
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os pondríais	you would put on / become (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se pondrían	they would put on / become; you would put on / become (plural)

• Me pondría otra chaqueta si hiciera más frío. — I would put on another jacket if it were colder.

Ponerse present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; regional distribution varies. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant puesto.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me he puesto	I have put on / become
Tú — you, singular informal	te has puesto	you have put on / become
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se ha puesto	he / she has put on / become; you have put on / become (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos hemos puesto	we have put on / become
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os habéis puesto	you have put on / become (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se han puesto	they have put on / become; you have put on / become (plural)

• Me he puesto muy contento con la noticia. — I have become very happy about the news.

Ponerse past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant puesto.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me había puesto	I had put on / become
Tú — you, singular informal	te habías puesto	you had put on / become
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se había puesto	he / she had put on / become; you had put on / become (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos habíamos puesto	we had put on / become
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os habíais puesto	you had put on / become (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se habían puesto	they had put on / become; you had put on / become (plural)

• Ya nos habíamos puesto de acuerdo. — We had already reached an agreement.

Ponerse future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant puesto.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me habré puesto	I will have put on / become
Tú — you, singular informal	te habrás puesto	you will have put on / become
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se habrá puesto	he / she will have put on / become; you will have put on / become (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos habremos puesto	we will have put on / become
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os habréis puesto	you will have put on / become (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se habrán puesto	they will have put on / become; you will have put on / become (plural)

• Para entonces se habrán puesto en marcha todos los equipos. — By then all the teams will have gotten underway.

Ponerse conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant puesto.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me habría puesto	I would have put on / become
Tú — you, singular informal	te habrías puesto	you would have put on / become
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se habría puesto	he / she would have put on / become; you would have put on / become (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos habríamos puesto	we would have put on / become
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os habríais puesto	you would have put on / become (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se habrían puesto	they would have put on / become; you would have put on / become (plural)

• Me habría puesto el abrigo si hubiera sabido que hacía frío. — I would have put on the coat if I had known it was cold.

Ponerse subjunctive conjugations

Ponerse present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate environments involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. Present subjunctive uses pong- throughout.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me ponga	that I put on / become
Tú — you, singular informal	te pongas	that you put on / become
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se ponga	that he / she put on / become; that you put on / become (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos pongamos	that we put on / become
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os pongáis	that you put on / become (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se pongan	that they put on / become; that you put on / become (plural)

• Quiero que te pongas la chaqueta. — I want you to put on the jacket.

Ponerse imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Past subjunctive uses pusier-; the main table shows the -ra series, with -se forms also accepted.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me pusiera	that I put on / became
Tú — you, singular informal	te pusieras	that you put on / became
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se pusiera	that he / she put on / became; that you put on / became (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos pusiéramos	that we put on / became
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os pusierais	that you put on / became (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se pusieran	that they put on / became; that you put on / became (plural)

• Preferían que nos pusiéramos de acuerdo antes. — They preferred that we reach an agreement earlier.
• Era mejor que te pusieses en contacto con ellos. — It was better for you to get in touch with them.

Ponerse future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts. These rare reference forms use pusier-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me pusiere	if / when I should put on / become
Tú — you, singular informal	te pusieres	if / when you should put on / become
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se pusiere	if / when he / she should put on / become; if / when you should put on / become (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos pusiéremos	if / when we should put on / become
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os pusiereis	if / when you should put on / become (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se pusieren	if / when they should put on / become; if / when you should put on / become (plural)

• Quien se pusiere en contacto con el servicio deberá identificarse. — Whoever should contact the service must identify themselves.

Ponerse present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant puesto.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me haya puesto	that I have put on / become
Tú — you, singular informal	te hayas puesto	that you have put on / become
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se haya puesto	that he / she has put on / become; that you have put on / become (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos hayamos puesto	that we have put on / become
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os hayáis puesto	that you have put on / become (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se hayan puesto	that they have put on / become; that you have put on / become (plural)

• Me alegra que te hayas puesto mejor. — I am glad that you have gotten better.

Ponerse past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant puesto.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me hubiera puesto	that I had put on / become
Tú — you, singular informal	te hubieras puesto	that you had put on / become
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se hubiera puesto	that he / she had put on / become; that you had put on / become (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos hubiéramos puesto	that we had put on / become
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os hubierais puesto	that you had put on / become (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se hubieran puesto	that they had put on / become; that you had put on / become (plural)

• Si me hubiera puesto el abrigo, no habría tenido frío. — If I had put on the coat, I would not have been cold.
• Si te hubieses puesto a estudiar antes, habrías terminado. — If you had started studying earlier, you would have finished.

Ponerse future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. Treat it as a formal or historical reference form, not an everyday conversational target. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant puesto.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me hubiere puesto	if / when I should have put on / become
Tú — you, singular informal	te hubieres puesto	if / when you should have put on / become
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se hubiere puesto	if / when he / she should have put on / become; if / when you should have put on / become (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos hubiéremos puesto	if / when we should have put on / become
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os hubiereis puesto	if / when you should have put on / become (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se hubieren puesto	if / when they should have put on / become; if / when you should have put on / become (plural)

• Si se hubieren puesto condiciones adicionales, deberán comunicarse. — If additional conditions should have been imposed, they must be communicated.

Ponerse imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. The nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Ponerse affirmative commands

Affirmative commands attach the clitic: ponte, póngase, pongámonos, poneos, pónganse. Note standard poneos for vosotros/vosotras.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	ponte	put on
Usted — you, singular formal	póngase	put on (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	pongámonos	let’s put on
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	poneos	put on (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	pónganse	put on (plural)

• Ponte la chaqueta. — Put on the jacket.

Ponerse negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no before the person-matched clitic and the verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no te pongas	do not put on
Usted — you, singular formal	no se ponga	do not put on (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no nos pongamos	let’s not put on
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no os pongáis	do not put on (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no se pongan	do not put on (plural)

• No te pongas nervioso. — Do not get nervous.

Common constructions with Ponerse

These patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the target verb is used.

• ponerse + adjective / state. — to become / get into a state: ponerse nervioso, triste, rojo.
• ponerse + clothing. — to put on clothing.
• ponerse a + infinitive. — to start doing something.
• ponerse de pie. — to stand up.
• ponerse en contacto / de acuerdo. — to get in touch / reach agreement.

Example sentences with Ponerse

These examples reinforce useful forms and contexts already taught in the lesson.

• Me pongo el abrigo antes de salir. — I put on my coat before going out.
• Se puso muy contenta. — She became very happy.
• Nos ponemos a trabajar a las nueve. — We start working at nine.
• Espero que te pongas mejor pronto. — I hope you get better soon.
• Ya se han puesto de acuerdo. — They have already reached an agreement.
• Pónganse de pie, por favor. — Stand up, please.

Regional and usage notes for Ponerse

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes. Voseo changes some second-person singular forms where vos is used.

• Vos te ponés nervioso antes del examen. — You get nervous before the exam. (voseo)
• Ponete la chaqueta. — Put on the jacket. (affirmative vos command)

Ponerse combines irregular verbal morphology with pronominal syntax. Memorize me pongo / me puse / me pondré / me ponga / me pusiera / puesto and the command set separately.