The verb poner (to put) is widely used and in today’s post let’s learn its basic meanings.

Poner means basically to put, to place something somewhere.

¿Dónde has puesto las llave del coche? – Where have you put the car keys?
Todavía no sé dónde voy a poner ese cuadro. – I still don’t know where I’m going to put that picture.
Pon agua a la sopa pues está muy gruesa. – Add water to the soup because it’s too thick.
La gallina puso huevos anoche. – The hen laid eggs last night.

It can also means “to invest”:

¿Cuánto pusiste en el juego? – How much did you gamble?
Tendremos que poner 300.000 euros en este negocio. – We’ll have to invest 30,000 euros in thsi business.

Poner also expresses the idea of changing an aspect of something, someone’s attitude, mood or status.

Vamos a poner fin a esta situación. – Let’s put an end to this situation.
Si quieres salir, pon el coche en revés. – If you want to leave, put the car in reverse.
Lo que dijo me puso en un aprieto. – What he said put me in a fix.
Despertarme muy temprano me pone de muy mal humor. – Waking up too early puts me in a bad mood.
¿Por qué vas a poner tu casa en venta? – Why are you putting your house up for sale?
No pongas mala cara a causa de eso. – Don’t make a long face because of that.

We use poner when we say what is in the movies or at a theater:

Hoy ponen una peli de horror en la tele. – They’re showing a horror movie on TV.
Si vas al teatro tienes que saber qué pondrán. – If you’re going to the theater you have to know what they’re showing.
Pon la tele que va a empezar el noticiero. – Turn the TV on because the news is about to start.

Check out how it is used in its reflexive form:

Se puso de barro hasta los muslos. – He had mud up to his thighs.
Se puso morado de caramelos. – He pigged out on candies.
Se puso muy nervioso antes de la entrevista. – He got very nervous before the interview.
¿A qué hora se pone el sol? – What time does the sun set?
Si te pones, seguro que tendrás éxito. – If you try hard, I’m sure you’ll be successful.
Tengo que ponerme las gafas antes de leer. – I have to put my glasse on before reading.
Me puse muy triste cuando escuché la noticia de que se había muerto. – I got very sad when I heard the news that he had died.
Se puso rojo de rabia. – He was red with anger.
Se puso a leer cuando llegó a casa. – He started reading when he got home.

This is it for today! Nos vemos prontito.

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