Welcome to our grammar lesson about Spanish verbs of change and transformation.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to use the most common verbs of change in sentences.
Let’s do it!
List of verbs of change
The most common Spanish verbs of change and transformation are:
ponerse
volverse
hacerse
quedarse
convertirse en
transformarse en
All those verbs can be translated as “to become”, “to turn into”… or other similar English expressions.
Note: All these verbs are reflexive
All verbs in the list above are reflexive.
That means every time we use them, we need to place a reflexive pronoun somewhere in the sentence.
In the rest of the lesson, we will learn the slight differences between these verbs, providing example sentences.
ponerse
Characteristics of ponerse:
- it expresses a rather quick change
Examples:
El semáforo se pone verde.
The traffic light turns green.Me pongo colorado.
I blush. (I “become red”)Te pones como un tomate.
You blush bright red. (You “become like a tomato”)Nos hemos puesto enfermos.
We have got sick.
volverse
Characteristics of volverse:
- it expresses a slower, gradual change
Examples:
Con el tiempo, estos perros se vuelven muy cariñosos.
With time, these dogs become very affectionate.Londres se ha vuelto muy cara.
London has become very expensive.Con los años me he vuelto optimista.
Over the years I have become optimistic.
hacerse
Characteristics of hacerse:
- it expresses a personal change that is usually about money, profession, religion or ideology
- it tends to introduce an adjective or the name of a profession
Examples:
Nos hacemos ricos.
We get rich.Felipe se ha hecho policía.
Felipe has become a police officer.Mi amigo se hizo budista.
My friend became buddhist.Ellos se hicieron anarquistas.
They became anarchists.
quedarse
Characteristics of quedarse:
- it can mean “to end up”, “to be left…” or something similar
- it expresses the result of some process or experience
Examples:
Yo me quedo solo.
I end up alone.Tu te quedas calvo.
You go bald.María se ha quedado embarazada.
María has got pregnant.Pablo se queda con cara de tonto.
Pablo is left looking stupid.
convertirse en – transformarse en
Characteristics of these two verbs:
- they express a drastic change or transformation
- they tend to introduce a noun
Examples:
El agua se convierte en hielo.
Water turns into ice.Él se convierte en lobo todas las noches.
He turns into a wolf every night.La madera se transformó en oro macizo.
The wood transformed into solid gold.