# Verbs of Change: ponerse, quedarse, hacerse, volverse

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CEFR B2–C2 · 2026-10-19 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> Ponerse, quedarse, hacerse and volverse say that the subject becomes something, and each marks a different kind of change. A passing change takes ponerse; a lasting one takes quedarse: Ana se puso nerviosa. Ana se quedó sola.

## Cheatsheet

| Point | Rule | Example | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ponerse | a passing change of state or mood | Ana se puso nerviosa. | Ana got nervous. |
| quedarse | the result of a change, which lasts | Mi abuelo se quedó sordo. | My grandfather went deaf. |
| hacerse | a change the subject brings about, or that places them in a group | Elena se hizo budista. | Elena became a Buddhist. |
| volverse | a deep change of character | La gente se volvió desconfiada. | People became distrustful. |
| convertirse en | a complete transformation | La rana se convirtió en príncipe. | The frog turned into a prince. |
| llegar a ser | the end of a long process | Con esfuerzo, llegó a ser directora. | With effort, she became a director. |
| Pseudo-copulative verbs | mantenerse / mostrarse / resultar / quedar / verse link the subject to a complement | El ciclista resultó herido. / Acabó siendo profesora. | The cyclist ended up injured. / She ended up being a teacher. |
| With a noun | hacerse and volverse take a noun | Se hizo médico. | He became a doctor. |
| Fixed expressions | hacerse tarde, quedarse frío, ponerse como una sopa | Se me ha hecho tarde. | It's got late. |
| Trap | lo does not replace the complement: use así | Yo me volví así también. | I became like that too. |
| Trap | convertirse takes en before a noun | Se convirtió en médico. | He became a doctor. |

## Overview

- ponerse, quedarse, hacerse, volverse and convertirse take the pronoun of their person: Yo me puse rojo. / Nosotras nos quedamos calladas. — I turned red. / We stayed quiet.
- A state without change uses ser and estar: see Ser or Estar with Adjectives.
- ponerse a with an infinitive starts an action: see Verb Phrases: acabar de, volver a, soler.

## Four verbs with an adjective

| Verb | Change | Examples | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ponerse + adjective | a passing change of state or feeling | Ana se puso nerviosa antes del examen. / Julián se puso colorado. / Para la fiesta, Lola se puso guapa. | Ana got nervous before the exam. / Julián went red. / Lola got dressed up for the party. |
| quedarse + adjective | the result of a change, which lasts | Mi abuelo se quedó sordo. / Los niños se quedaron quietos. / Me quedé preocupada. | My grandfather went deaf. / The children stayed still. / I was left worried. |
| hacerse + adjective | a change the subject brings about, or that places them in a social group | Tomás se hizo rico con su negocio. / Mi hija se hizo mayor. / Elena se hizo budista. | Tomás got rich with his business. / My daughter grew up. / Elena became a Buddhist. |
| volverse + adjective | a deep and often unexpected change of character | Con los años, se volvió egoísta. / El vecino se volvió insoportable. / La gente se volvió desconfiada. | Over the years, he became selfish. / The neighbour became unbearable. / People became distrustful. |
| hacerse + noun | a profession or a condition that someone reaches | Se hizo médico a los treinta años. | He became a doctor at thirty. |
| volverse + noun | a change of character described with a noun | Se volvió una persona amargada. | He became a bitter person. |

## Convertirse en and llegar a ser

| Pattern | Meaning | Examples | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| convertirse + en + noun | a complete transformation | La rana se convirtió en príncipe. / Con los años, el pueblo se convirtió en una ciudad. | The frog turned into a prince. / Over the years, the village became a city. |
| convertirse + a + noun | a change of religion or ideas | Mi vecino se convirtió al islam. | My neighbour converted to Islam. |
| llegar a ser + noun | the end of a long process | Con mucho esfuerzo, llegó a ser directora. | With a lot of effort, she became a director. |
| llegar a ser + adjective | a result reached over time | Su canción llegó a ser famosa en todo el país. | Her song became famous all over the country. |

## How to replace the complement

- The pronoun lo does not replace the complement of these verbs; use así: Ana se puso nerviosa y yo me puse así también. — Ana got nervous and I got that way too.
- The adjective agrees with the subject: Los niños se quedaron quietos. / Las niñas se quedaron quietas. — The boys stayed still. / The girls stayed still.

## Pseudo-copulative verbs

| Verb | Meaning | Examples | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| mantenerse | to stay in a state, without change | Se mantuvo tranquilo durante la discusión. | He stayed calm during the argument. |
| mostrarse | to show a state or an attitude | El director se mostró amable con todos. | The director was friendly to everyone. |
| resultar | to turn out to be, often unexpectedly | El ciclista resultó herido en la caída. / La visita resultó muy útil. | The cyclist ended up injured in the fall. / The visit turned out to be very useful. |
| quedar | to be the result of an action | Todo quedó claro. / La mesa quedó limpia. | Everything became clear. / The table ended up clean. |
| verse | to find oneself in a situation, often unwillingly | Se vio obligado a salir. | He found himself forced to leave. |
| acabar + gerund / terminar + gerund | to reach a final state after a process | Acabó siendo profesora. / Terminó viviendo en Quito. | She ended up being a teacher. / He ended up living in Quito. |

- These verbs link the subject to a complement, as ser and estar do.

## Fixed expressions of change

| Expression | Meaning | Examples | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ponerse de un + adjective | an extreme degree of change, with a clause that measures it | Se puso de un pesado que tuve que irme. | He got so annoying that I had to leave. |
| hacerse tarde | time passes until it is late | Se hizo tarde y perdimos el último tren. / Se me ha hecho tarde. | It got late and we missed the last train. / It's got late. |
| quedarse tieso | to go stiff from cold or fear | Esperando el autobús, me quedé tieso de frío. | Waiting for the bus, I froze stiff. |
| quedarse frío | to be left with no reaction to a surprise | Al oír la noticia, me quedé frío. | When I heard the news, I was stunned. |
| ponerse como una sopa | to get completely wet | Sin paraguas, nos pusimos como una sopa. | Without an umbrella, we got soaked. |

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Se hizo nervioso. | Se puso nervioso. | a passing state takes ponerse |
| Mi abuelo se puso sordo. | Mi abuelo se quedó sordo. | a lasting result takes quedarse |
| La rana se convirtió príncipe. | La rana se convirtió en príncipe. | convertirse takes en before a noun |
| Mi hermano se volvió vegetariano y yo me lo volví también. | Mi hermano se volvió vegetariano y yo me volví así también. | lo does not replace the complement: use así |
| Las niñas se quedaron quieto. | Las niñas se quedaron quietas | the complement agrees with the subject |
| Se puso médico. | Se hizo médico. | a profession is reached with hacerse |
| Acabó ser profesora. | Acabó siendo profesora. | acabar takes a gerund for a final state |
| Hizo tarde y nos fuimos. | Se hizo tarde y nos fuimos. | hacerse tarde is a pronominal verb |