poner

Poner is a widely used Spanish verb meaning to put, to place, or to set. It is transitive and forms many idiomatic expressions. In addition to literal placement, it covers turning on devices (poner la radio), setting times (poner a las ocho), and a range of figurative senses such as poner atención (to pay attention) or poner en duda (to cast doubt).

It derives from Latin ponere and is cognate with related forms in other Romance languages, such as French mettre, Italian mettere, and Portuguese pôr.

Conjugation at a glance:

Present: pongo, pones, pone, ponemos, ponéis, ponen.

Preterite: puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron.

Imperfect: ponía, ponías, ponía, poníamos, poníais, ponían.

Future: pondré, pondrás, pondrá, pondremos, pondréis, pondrán.

Conditional: pondría, pondrías, pondría, pondríamos, pondríais, pondrían.

Present subjunctive: ponga, pongas, ponga, pongamos, pongáis, pongan.

Imperfect subjunctive: pusiera (o pusiese).

Past participle: puesto. Gerund: poniendo.

Imperative: tú pon, usted ponga, nosotros pongamos, vosotros poned, ustedes pongan; negative: no pongas, no ponga, no pongamos, no pongáis, no pongan.

Usage notes:

Poner is highly productive in compounding and phrasal verbs. It often requires prepositions or is combined with reflexives to express states or beginnings, as in ponerse nervioso (to become nervous) or ponerse a estudiar (to begin studying). Common phrases include poner la mesa (to set the table), poner en marcha (to start a process), and poner de relieve (to emphasize). Its versatility makes it one of the core verbs in everyday Spanish.