Hacerse, volverse, ponerse and other verbs of change in Spanish.

Hey!
Remember these verbs and phrasal verbs (apart from llegar a ser) are reflexive. This means that you need to use the following pronouns:

Me (I) / Te (you) / se (she/he/it) / nos (we) /os (you guys) /se (they)
+
The verb in whatever tense you choose.

Ok, let's dive into it!

HACERSE:

Usually, happens after a process of some kind, it's usually used with more or less permanent nouns (that we use "ser" for) and it's mostly on purpose.

Cases:

• Ideology

  Ex: Se hizo comunista - he/she became a communist.

• Religion

  Ex: Me hice católica - I became catholic.

• Age

  Ex: Mi abuela se hizo muy mayor – My grandma became very old.

• Job
  Ex: Se hizo médico – He/she became doctors.

• Time
  Ex: Se hizo tarde – It became late.

• Sometimes, a more or less permanent quality on people.

  Ex: * Ella se ha hecho muy vaga* - She has become very lazy.

VOLVERSE:

Usually involuntary change
The result is quite permanent, therefore adjectives we would use "ser" for.

Cases:

• Personality traits

Ex: Se volvió muy celoso - He became very jealous.

• Take on cultural habits that are not your own

Ex: Te volviste española - You became Spanish. - You started to eat,act,live like a Spaniard.

This can overlap with the hacerse when used for qualities in people, but volverse sounds a bit less voluntary. Otherwise, they're pretty similar in those situations.

• More or less permanent qualities on inanimate nouns

  Ex: Se volvió difícil despedir a mis empleados - It became difficult to fire my employees.

Ex: Los productos se vuelven más baratos con el tiempo - The products become cheaper with time.

PONERSE:

Involuntary change
The result is quite temporary, and about things that can happen almost daily, therefore usually these are adjectives we would use "estar" with.

Cases:

• Health

  Ex: Me puse enferma – I got sick.

• Mood

  Ex: Te pusiste muy triste – You got very sad

  Ex2: The expression “ponerse rojo/colorado” – to blush.

• State of inanimate nouns

  Ex: La comida se puso mala - The food went bad
  Ex: La situación se pone seria - The situation gets serious

• Appearance. On the same topic as to "ponerse ropa" - to put on clothes.

  Ex: Se puso muy guapa– She made herself pretty.

This includes "ponerse moreno/a" - to get tanned

QUEDARSE:

Mostly an unexpected change as a reaction of something that happened.
Usually negative

Cases:

• Adjectives for states (widow, pregnant, blind, deaf, orphan, disable, etc) or behaviour/reaction.

When it goes with a reaction, it can be translated usually as "getting + adjective".

Ex: Se quedó viuda – She became a widow.
Ex: Se quedaron callados – They got quiet.
Ex: Me quedé embarazada – I got pregnant.
Ex: Me quedé sorprendida – I was surprised.

LLEGAR A SER:

Voluntary and wanted change
It usually happens after a long time and effort
Positive
You can maybe translate it as "gets to be"

Cases:

• Nouns (usually jobs).

  Ex: Llegó a ser presidente - He became the president.

  Ex2: Llegué a ser abogada - I became a lawyer.

• Adjectives

  Ex: Llegasteis a ser ricos y famosos – You guys became rich and famous.

CONVERTIRSE EN / TRANSFORMARSE EN

Deep big change, changing the identity or even biology of the said thing, with neutral or positive connotations

Cases:

• Nouns - Without adjective after:

  Ex: El capullo se convirtió en una mariposa – The cocoon became a butterfly.

• With adjective after: Ex: Se convirtió en una persona importante – He/she became an important person.

That's it!
Hasta luego! :)