ponerse Preterite Conjugation
ponerse — to put on
The preterite of ponerse uses the irregular 'pus-' stem: me puse, te pusiste, se puso, nos pusimos, os pusisteis, se pusieron.
ponerse Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe the exact moment someone put on a piece of clothing or suddenly changed their emotional state (e.g., 'he got nervous').
Notes on ponerse in the Preterite
This is a 'U-stem' irregular verb. The stem changes from 'pon-' to 'pus-' and it uses special endings without accents (e.g., -e, -iste, -o).
Example Sentences
Me puse la chaqueta porque hacía frío.
I put on my jacket because it was cold.
yo
Se puso muy nerviosa durante el examen.
She got very nervous during the exam.
él/ella/usted
Nos pusimos las botas de montaña.
We put on our hiking boots.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'me poní' or 'se ponió'.
Correct: Me puse / se puso.
Why: Ponerse follows the irregular 'pus-' pattern, not the regular -er pattern in the preterite.
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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.
Imperfect
yo: me ponía
Ponerse is completely regular in the imperfect: me ponía, te ponías, se ponía.
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.