Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Mi abuela se pone a tararear en la cocina cuando oye a esa locutora por la radio. - My grandmother starts humming in the kitchen when she hears that presenter on the radio.

Mi abuela se pone a tararear en la cocina cuando oye a esa locutora por la radio.

My grandmother starts humming in the kitchen when she hears that presenter on the radio.

Breakdown of Mi abuela se pone a tararear en la cocina cuando oye a esa locutora por la radio.

cuando

when

Questions & Answers about Mi abuela se pone a tararear en la cocina cuando oye a esa locutora por la radio.

Why does the sentence use se pone a tararear instead of just tararea?

Ponerse a + infinitive means to start/begin to do something.

So:

tararea = she hums
se pone a tararear = she starts humming / she begins to hum

This structure adds the idea that the action begins at that moment, usually as a reaction to something. In this sentence, the trigger is hearing that radio presenter.

Why is it se pone and not just pone?

In this expression, ponerse a + infinitive is a fixed pronominal structure.

poner by itself usually means to put
ponerse a + infinitive means to start doing something

So here se is not optional. You need it:

Mi abuela se pone a tararear = My grandmother starts humming

Without se, pone would suggest the normal meaning of put, not begin.

What exactly does tararear mean?

Tararear means to hum, especially humming a tune or melody without fully singing the words.

It often suggests a soft, casual, absent-minded kind of singing. So it fits well with the idea of a grandmother in the kitchen reacting to something she hears on the radio.