Starting an action (ponerse a)

Starting an Action with "ponerse a"

When you want to say that someone suddenly started doing something or set about a task, use the reflexive verb ponerse, followed by the preposition a, and an infinitive (an unconjugated verb).

to start (+ infinitive)
ponerse a

Because this structure emphasizes the exact moment an action began, you will very often see it used in the preterite (simple past) tense. Remember that poner is irregular in the past, and since it is reflexive here, it requires a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se):

Subject"ponerse a" (Preterite)
yome puse a
túte pusiste a
él / ella / ustedse puso a
nosotros / nosotrasnos pusimos a
vosotros / vosotrasos pusisteis a
ellos / ellas / ustedesse pusieron a

Let's see it in action in the garden:

Yesterday I started to plant the tree there.
Ayer me puse a plantar el árbol allí.

Always make sure the reflexive pronoun matches the subject doing the action:

We started to water the seeds with the hose.
Nos pusimos a regar las semillas con la manguera.
My mother started to prune the bushes.
Mi madre se puso a podar los arbustos.

This structure is especially useful for telling stories or describing a sequence of events where one action quickly follows another:

My brother took the hose and started to water.
Mi hermano cogió la manguera y se puso a regar.
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