Poner Conjugation 101: Conjugate Poner in Spanish

Poner is a common irregular verb in Spanish. But, despite its irregularities, this is a verb we use in daily conversations. As a result, in this guide, we’ll check the most common poner conjugation charts. Here’s an overview of what we’ll learn: 

• Poner Overview
• Indicative Tenses of Poner Conjugations
  • Present tense
  • Preterite tense
  • Imperfect tense
  • Near Future tense
  • Future tense
  • Conditional tense
  • Present Perfect tense
  • Past Perfect tense
  • Future Perfect tense
  • Conditional Perfect tense
  • Progressive tenses
• Subjunctive Tenses of Poner Conjugations
  • Present Subjunctive tense
  • Present Perfect Subjunctive tense
  • Imperfect Subjunctive tense
  • Past Perfect Subjunctive tense
• Imperative (Commands) of Poner Conjugations
  • Affirmative Commands
  • Negative Commands
• Uses & Examples
• Download Poner Conjugation Tables & Uses Cheat sheets
• Poner Conjugation Practice Quiz

Overview of Poner

In Spanish, poner means ‘to put’, ‘to add’, ‘to put on’, among other applications. The conjugation charts below only have one translation to keep the tables as organized as possible. You can learn more about the meanings of ‘poner’ in the section Uses & Meanings. 

Indicative Conjugations of Poner

Present tense

Poner conjugations in the present tense are all regular, except for the form yo. With this subject pronoun, we must use the stem pong. Conjugate poner to the present indicative tense to communicate that people are currently putting, dressing, or placing something. 

For example: ¿Qué le pongo a la sopa?

Preterite tense

Poner preterite conjugations are irregular. Use the stem pus for all subject pronouns and omit the accent marks in the preterite tense endings. In this tense, ‘poner’ refers to the things people put or placed in the past. For instance: Niños, ¿dónde pusieron el control?

Imperfect tense

When conjugated to the indicative imperfect tense, poner is a regular verb. Use the imperfect conjugations to explain where people used to put things repeatedly in the past. For instance: Mi mamá siempre ponía música cuando cocinaba. 

Near future

Poner conjugated to the immediate or near future tense communicates that a person will put something somewhere soon in the future. We use the formula ir (present tense) + a + poner to form this tense. For example: Espérame, voy a ponerle sal a la sopa. 

Future simple tense

Poner future tense conjugations are irregular, and we form them with the stem pondr. Conjugate this verb to the future simple to explain that people will put something somewhere or wear certain clothes at some point in the future. Mañana me pondré el vestido rojo. 

Conditional tense

The Spanish conditional forms of poner are also formed with the irregular stem pondr. Use these conjugations to talk about what people would wear or put somewhere. Creo que mi mamá no pondría las flores en esa mesa. 

Present perfect tense

The Spanish present perfect tense is formed with haber in the present tense + puesto (past participle). Conjugate this verb to the present perfect tense to discuss what people have or haven’t put somewhere. For instance: ¿Por qué no han puesto la comida en el refrigerador?

Take Note: Poner is one of the few verbs with an irregular past participle in Spanish. 

Past perfect

Conjugate poner to the Spanish past perfect tense to express that someone had or hadn’t put something before another reference point in the past. For instance: Cuando llegué, mis papás ya habían puesto la película. 

To form the past perfect, use the imperfect form of ‘haber’ and the past participle form of ‘poner’.

Future perfect

Poner conjugated to the Spanish future perfect conveys that someone will have put something somewhere by or before a certain moment in the future. We also use these forms to talk about what someone might put. For example: En unas horas, habré puesto todo en su lugar. 

Conditional perfect

In Spanish, conjugate poner to the conditional perfect for expressing that someone would have put something somewhere if a past action had been completed. For instance: Si nos hubieras dicho, habríamos puesto tus cosas en el carro. 

Progressive tenses

The progressive tenses of poner convey that someone is putting something at the moment of speaking. Use estar conjugated + present participle (poniendo) to form these tenses. Here is a sentence: Creo que le están poniendo mucha sal a la comida. 

Poner Subjunctive Conjugations

The subjunctive mood in Spanish conveys uncertainty, wishes, suggestions, requests, and expectations and also refers to hypothetical situations. In the sections below, you’ll find all of the poner conjugation charts for these tenses. 

Present subjunctive

Poner subjunctive conjugations are irregular. To conjugate to this tense, we must use the stem pong for all subject pronouns. Use ‘poner’ in the present subjunctive to wish or request that someone puts something in a certain place. 

For instance: La maestra quiere que pongamos sus libros en la mesa.

Present perfect subjunctive

To conjugate poner to the present perfect subjunctive use haber in the present subjunctive + puesto. Use these conjugations to wonder or wish someone has already put something somewhere. ¿Quién crees que haya puesto este letrero?

Imperfect subjunctive

The Spanish imperfect subjunctive conjugations of ‘poner’ are used to communicate past suggestions, requests, wishes, or expectations you had about someone putting something somewhere. Use the stem pusie to form this tense. Les dije que no pusieran mi ropa en el sol. 

Depending on the type of Spanish you use, there are two conjugation models for the imperfect subjunctive tense:

Latin American Spanish version

Note: Because Latin American Spanish doesn’t use the pronoun ‘vosotros’, the poner conjugation for ‘vosotros’ has been omitted in the conjugation chart above.

Castilian Spanish version

Past perfect subjunctive

Poner conjugated to past perfect subjunctive expresses that someone would have placed something somewhere if a past condition was completed. These forms can also express regret or hypothetical results if someone had put or wore something. 

For example: Si hubiera puesto atención, no habría reprobado. 

Take Note: Poner atención is a common expression with poner, and it means ‘to pay attention’. 

Poner Imperative Conjugations

Spanish commands are formed with the imperative mood. We use these conjugations to order people to do something. 

Affirmative commands

Poner affirmative commands conjugations are irregular except for ‘vosotros’. Informal commands (tú) are formed with the stem pon while formal and plural imperatives use the stem pong. In the affirmative imperative, this verb is used to order people to put something on or somewhere. 

For instance: Pongan la comida en el refrigerador.

Negative commands

The negative commands of poner use the same conjugations as the present subjunctive. We use these forms of ‘poner’ to order someone not to put something on or somewhere. For example: ¡No pongas esa película, no me gusta!

Meanings of Poner & Examples

Now that you’ve learned how to conjugate poner in Spanish, you should see the following examples of how to use this verb. In its non-reflexive form, poner means to: 

• Put, add or to place
• Give (when talking about grades)
• Put something on (on someone else)
• Fill in or put down
• Lay eggs 
• Open (businesses or stores)

[Poner conjugated] + [complement]

Ponle los calcetines al bebé. 
Put the socks on the baby. 

Mis hermanos pondrán un restaurante. 
My brothers will open a restaurant. 

¿Por qué le pusiste tanto ajo a la comida?
Why did you put so much garlic in the food?

Take Note: When talking about putting something on someone or somewhere, poner works with direct and indirect object pronouns. Be aware that the placement of these pronouns will vary depending on the verb conjugation. 

The reflexive form ponerse means ‘to put on (oneself)’ or ‘to start doing something’. You must use reflexive pronouns to keep these meanings: 

[Reflexive pronoun] + [poner conjugated] + a + infinitive verb

¿Por qué te pusiste mi vestido?
Why did you put my dress on?

Me voy a poner a buscar departamento. 
I am going to start looking for an apartment. 

Take Note: Ponerse uses the same conjugation as ‘poner’. The only difference is that you need to use reflexive pronouns.

Download Poner Conjugation Tables & Uses Cheat sheets

Poner is a highly irregular Spanish -ER verb. So, it can be difficult to learn and memorize all its different forms in the various key tenses. It’s also a highly dynamic verb with multiple meanings which are dependent based on the context. So, I’ve created a downloadable PDF containing all of the poner conjugation charts as well as its meanings and uses along with example sentences which apply to daily conversational Spanish.

Download Conjugations PDF

Practice Quiz: Poner Conjugation

Now that you know how to conjugate poner, you might want to drill your Spanish verb skills. Feel free to take the poner conjugation practice quiz to test your knowledge with the many irregularities this verb has in different tenses.

Take Quiz