Poner: Full Conjugation

Poner means "to put" or "to place," but it has a huge range of metaphorical uses: to turn something on (poner la tele), to set the table (poner la mesa), to give a name (poner un nombre), and, reflexively, to become or to put on clothes (ponerse triste, ponerse los zapatos).

Poner is irregular throughout. The present has the -go yo form pongo, the preterite uses the -us- irregular stem puse, the future/conditional take the shortened stem pondr- with an inserted d, and the past participle puesto is irregular.

Present Indicative

Preterite

Imperfect

Future

Conditional

Present Subjunctive

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Imperative

Non-Finite Forms

• Infinitive: poner
• Gerund: poniendo
• Past participle: puesto (irregular)

Compound Tenses

The compound tenses use haber plus the irregular past participle puesto.

Present Perfect

Pluperfect

Future Perfect

Conditional Perfect

Present Perfect Subjunctive

Pluperfect Subjunctive

Progressive Forms

Progressive forms use estar with the gerund poniendo.

Present Progressive

Past Progressive

Future Progressive

Common Collocations and Expressions

• ponerse — to become (sudden change); to put on (clothes)
• poner la mesa — to set the table
• poner atención — to pay attention
• poner en marcha — to start, set in motion
• poner en duda — to call into question
• poner al día — to update, bring up to date
• ponerse de pie — to stand up
• ponerse de acuerdo — to come to an agreement
• poner cara de — to make a face like
• poner verde a alguien — to slag someone off
• poner el grito en el cielo — to hit the roof, scream blue murder
• poner los pelos de punta — to make one's hair stand on end
• poner manos a la obra — to get down to work
• poner pegas — to make objections, find fault
• poner un huevo — to lay an egg
• ¿cuánto le pongo? — how much should I put in/give you?

Common Errors (for English speakers)

• ❌ Pono el libro en la mesa. / ✅ Pongo el libro en la mesa. — The yo form is pongo, with -go.
• ❌ He ponido la mesa. / ✅ He puesto la mesa. — The past participle is the irregular puesto.
• ❌ Pondré el libro en mesa. / ✅ Pondré el libro en la mesa. — Don't drop the article la before mesa.
• ❌ Me pongo el zapatos. / ✅ Me pongo los zapatos. — Use the plural article when putting on shoes (or other plural items).
• ❌ Ponga la mesa. (as a tú command) / ✅ Pon la mesa. — Affirmative tú is the irregular pon, not ponga (which is for usted).
• ❌ Me hago triste. / ✅ Me pongo triste. — Use ponerse (not hacerse) for sudden, temporary emotional changes.

Related Verbs

• hacer — shares the -go yo form pattern and irregular past participle (hecho).
• tener — shares the irregular future stem (tendr- / pondr-).
• colocar — "to place," more deliberate or technical synonym of poner.
• meter — "to put inside," when something goes into a container or enclosed space.
• proponer, suponer, componer, disponer, imponer — all conjugate exactly like poner with prefixes.
• volverse, hacerse, convertirse en, llegar a ser — other "to become" verbs to compare with ponerse.

Cross-references

• Irregular yo forms ending in -go
• Irregular past participles
• Becoming verbs in Spanish
• Hacer: full conjugation
• Imperative overview