‘Poner’ is one of a small list of Spanish verbs with a huge assortment of common uses. There are 28 uses for “poner” listed in my Spanish to Spanish dictionary.

Some uses of ‘poner’ are more frequent than others. In today’s podcast, I will look a few of the most useful contexts for this common verb. 

Like many words in the Spanish language there are more situations to use ‘poner’ than you can poke a stick at. But clichéd introductions aside.

It is a really useful verb and sometimes if you want to get to conversational level of Spanish it is worth slowing down to speed up. That means dissecting one word at a time. Becoming really comfortable with just one word’s uses inside and out. And then moving on.

Sometimes, it is better to go 5 miles deep and 1 inch wide than 1 inch deep and 5 miles wide. Wow, I’m really in a cliché mood today. But, hopefully the point is clear. Being conversational in Spanish means knowing a few common words really well than a lot of less frequent words poorly.

Examples from today’s podcast:

I thought I put my keys on the table – Pensaba que puse las llaves en la mesa.

Get me a beer – Ponme una cerveza.

Get me a beer, please – Ponme una cerveza, por favor.

Get me a tortilla, please – Ponme una tortilla, por favor.

It makes me happy – Me alegro.

It makes me happy (content) – Me pone contento.

It makes me happy to spend time with my friends – Me pone contento pasar tiempo con mis amigos.

They make me sad – Me ponen triste.

Always the end of the year (New Years Eves) makes me sad – Siempre los fines de año me ponen triste.

It makes me very nervous to fly during a big storm – Me pone muy nervioso viajar en avión durante una tormenta grande.

It makes me nervous to speak in public – Me pone nervioso hablar en público.

Does it make your nervous to speak in public? – ¿Te pone nervioso hablar en público?

It puts me in a good mood – Me pone de buen humor.

When I see your smile, it always puts me in a good mood – Cuando veo tu sonrisa siempre me pone de buen humor.

It puts me in a bad mood – Me pone de mal humor.

It puts me in a bad mood when I have to work late – Me pone de mal humor cuando tengo que trabajar tarde.

You make me nervous with so many questions – Me pones nervioso con tanta pregunta.

To cheat on someone – Poner los cuernos.

I think that my girlfriend is cheating on me – Creo que mi novia me está poniendo los cuernos.

Other episdoes mentioned in this podcast:

Quote for today:

“Tener un secreto tan gordo dentro de mi cerebro me ponía muy nervioso.” – Elvira Lindo (Manoito Gafotas)

How else can you use “poner” in a conversation?

The post Tips 051: 3 Spanish Phrases With The Verb ‘Poner’ appeared first on Real Fast Spanish.