ponerse Imperfect Conjugation
ponerse — to put on
Ponerse is completely regular in the imperfect: me ponía, te ponías, se ponía.
ponerse Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe what someone used to wear habitually or how they were feeling/becoming over a period of time in the past.
Notes on ponerse in the Imperfect
There are no irregularities here; it follows the standard -er imperfect endings (-ía, -ías, -ía, etc.).
Example Sentences
De niña, siempre me ponía la ropa de mi madre.
As a child, I always used to put on my mother's clothes.
yo
Se ponían rojos cada vez que hablaban en público.
They used to turn red every time they spoke in public.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Nos poníamos el pijama temprano en invierno.
We used to put on our pajamas early in winter.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'pusía' instead of 'ponía'.
Correct: Me ponía.
Why: Learners often try to use the preterite 'pus-' stem in the imperfect, but the imperfect uses the regular infinitive stem.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: me pongo
Ponerse is irregular only in the 'yo' form (me pongo); the rest follow regular -er patterns.
Preterite
yo: me puse
The preterite of ponerse uses the irregular 'pus-' stem: me puse, te pusiste, se puso, nos pusimos, os pusisteis, se pusieron.
Future
yo: me pondré
The future of ponerse uses the irregular stem 'pondr-': me pondré, te pondrás, se pondrá.
Conditional
yo: me pondría
The conditional uses the same irregular stem as the future: 'pondr-'.
Present Subjunctive
yo: me ponga
The subjunctive builds off the 'yo' form 'pongo', resulting in: me ponga, te pongas, se ponga.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: me pusiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the preterite 'pus-' stem: me pusiera, te pusieras, se pusiera.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: ponte
The informal command is 'ponte', while others use the 'pong-' stem (póngase, pongámonos).
Negative Imperative
yo: no te pongas
Negative commands use 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no te pongas, no se ponga.