Spanish Word of the Day Archive
Monday April 16, 2007

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ponerse, reflexive verb:
to start

We’ve already looked at ponerse meaning ‘to become’ or ‘to be.’ When ponerse is followed by a and then the infinitive, it’s another way of saying to start doing something.

Mi intención es ponerme a trabajar cuanto antes
I intend to start working as soon as possible

This construction is often used with the verbs hablar and llorar:

Nada más ponerme a hablar comprendí que era inútil
As soon as I started talking I realised it was pointless

¿Me voy a poner a llorar por eso? ¡Ni hablar!
Am I going to cry over that? No way!

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