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

by Alba Castro

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! :)