Breakdown of Hicimos una broma en clase y la profesora nos puso un apodo divertido.
Questions & Answers about Hicimos una broma en clase y la profesora nos puso un apodo divertido.
Hicimos is the preterite (simple past) of hacer for nosotros: nosotros hicimos = we did / we made.
The sentence talks about a finished action in the past (we played a joke at some point), so Spanish uses the preterite.
- hacemos = we do / we make (present)
- hicimos = we did / we made (completed past action)
Because this joke happened and ended in the past, hicimos is the correct form.
Spanish distinguishes a bit between broma and chiste:
- una broma = a prank / joke action you do to someone (practical joke, trick, playful mischief).
- un chiste = a joke you tell (a funny story or one‑liner).
So:
- hacer una broma = to play a joke / pull a prank.
- contar / decir un chiste = to tell a joke.
In Spain you’ll also hear gastar(le) una broma (a alguien) with the same meaning as hacer una broma: to play a joke on someone.
Both are possible, but there’s a nuance:
- en clase = in class (as an activity/session). Very common and natural:
- Hicimos una broma en clase. = We played a joke during class.
- en la clase = in the classroom / in that specific class.
This puts a bit more focus on the physical room or that particular group.
In everyday speech, en clase is the usual way to say things like in class, during class.
Spanish uses the definite article la in many places where English leaves it out:
- la profesora literally = the teacher (female).
We assume the speaker and listener know which teacher is being talked about (their regular teacher), so Spanish naturally uses the definite article.
- profesora with no article would sound incomplete here.
- nuestra profesora = our teacher, which would also be correct, but adds the nuance our; the original sentence doesn’t emphasize that.
Also note the -a ending in profesora signals a female teacher. In Spain, profe is a very common informal form: la profe.
Literally:
- nos = to us (indirect object pronoun).
- puso = he/she put (preterite of poner).
But poner has an idiomatic use: ponerle algo a alguien can mean to give/assign someone something, especially:
- ponerle un nombre / un apodo a alguien = to give someone a name / nickname.
So nos puso un apodo divertido = she gave us a funny nickname (or she came up with a funny nickname for us).
With a conjugated verb in Spanish, object pronouns normally go before the verb:
- nos puso ✅
- puso nos ❌ (incorrect in standard Spanish)
Position only changes with infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative commands:
- va a ponernos un apodo / nos va a poner un apodo
- poniéndonos un apodo
- ponnos un apodo (affirmative command to tú)
In your sentence the verb is simply puso (past, conjugated), so the pronoun must be before it: nos puso.
- nosotros = subject pronoun: we.
- (Nosotros) hicimos una broma.
- nos = object pronoun: to us / us.
In la profesora nos puso un apodo, nos tells us who receives the nickname: the teacher gave *us a nickname*.
You could say the full version:
- Nosotros hicimos una broma…
but Spanish usually drops the subject pronoun because the verb ending (-imos in hicimos) already shows it is we.
Spanish normally needs an article with a singular countable noun:
- un apodo = a nickname.
- Saying just apodo with no article would be wrong in this sentence.
Compare:
- Nos puso un apodo. = She gave us a nickname.
- Ese es mi apodo. = That’s my nickname. (definite article mi or el plays the determiner role)
So you need un here because we’re introducing one nickname of many possible ones: a funny nickname.
All three can mean nickname, but usage varies:
- apodo
- Neutral and common.
- Works well in almost any context.
- mote
- Very common in Spain, often informal.
- Can feel a bit more schoolyard / teasing in some contexts, though it’s not necessarily negative.
- sobrenombre
- Less everyday, can sound a bit more formal or old‑fashioned, or used in historical / literary contexts.
In your sentence, un apodo divertido is perfectly natural and neutral; un mote divertido would also sound very typical in Spain, especially about classmates.
Both divertido and gracioso can translate as funny, but there are nuances:
- divertido
- Usually means fun, entertaining, enjoyable.
- A nickname that is playful and fun, not necessarily making people burst out laughing.
- gracioso
- Often funny, amusing, sometimes cute.
- In some contexts can also mean annoying or cheeky (e.g. no seas gracioso = don’t be a smart‑aleck).
Both un apodo divertido and un apodo gracioso are possible. Here, divertido emphasizes that the nickname made the situation fun and light‑hearted.
No, that would sound wrong. The prepositions change the meaning:
- en clase = in class / during class (where/when it happened). ✅
- a clase would suggest to the class but is not used that way here.
If you want to say we played a joke on the class (the group of students), you’d say:
- Hicimos una broma a la clase.
- Le hicimos una broma a la clase.
So:
- en clase → location/time (during class).
- a la clase → who received the joke (to the class).