Choosing the Perfect Verb of Change in Spanish: Hacerse, Volverse, Ponerse & Quedarse

October 18, 2016
<p>When it comes to verbs of change, Spanish seems to be overflowing with options:</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp"><strong>Se hizo</strong> rica.</span><br><span class="en">She became rich.</span></p><p><span class="sp"><strong>Se volvió</strong> loco.</span><br><span class="en">He became crazy.</span></p><p><span class="sp"><strong>Se puso</strong> enferma.</span><br><span class="en">She became sick</span></p><p><span class="sp"><strong>Se quedó</strong> soltero.</span><br><span class="en">He became single.</span></p></div><ul><li>Why <span class="sp"><a href="#hacerse"><strong>hacerse</strong></a> rico</span>, but <span class="sp"><a href="#volverse"><strong>volverse</strong></a> loco</span>? </li><li>Why <span class="sp"><a href="#ponerse"><strong>ponerse</strong></a> enfermo</span>, but <span class="sp"><a href="#quedarse"><strong>quedarse</strong></a> soltero</span>? </li><li>And above all, how can you choose between four different verbs that all mean <em>to become</em>?</li></ul><p>The first step is to <strong>simplify the problem</strong>: instead of trying to tackle 30 verbs at once, we're only going to focus on these four. But before we set out to explore them, let's agree on what we're looking for.</p><h2><a name="what_is_a_verb_of_change"></a> Verbs of change replace <span class="sp">ser</span> or <span class="sp">estar</span></h2><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">Rafa <strong>se hace</strong> un bocadillo de jamón y queso.</span><br><span class="en">Rafa <strong>makes himself</strong> a (Spanish sandwich) of ham and cheese.</span></p><p><span class="sp">Rafa <strong>se hace</strong> rico vendiendo sus bocadillos.</span><br><span class="en">Rafa (<strong>becomes</strong>) rich selling his (Spanish sandwiches).</span></p></div><p>What's the difference between these sentences?</p><p>In the first one, <span class="sp">hacerse</span> means <span class="en">to <em>literally</em> make (oneself) something</span>. It's a variation on the regular meaning of <span class="sp">hacer</span> (<span class="en">to make</span>). It is <strong>not</strong> being used as a verb of change.</p><p>In the second one, <span class="sp">hacerse</span> means <span class="en">to <em>metaphorically</em> (make oneself / become) rich</span>. The regular meaning of <span class="sp">hacer</span> is replaced with that of <span class="sp">ser</span>: previously, Rafa <span class="sp">no era rico</span> (<span class="en">he wasn't rich</span>), but now Rafa <span class="sp">es rico</span> (<span class="en">he's rich</span>). Therefore, <span class="sp">hacerse</span> is being used as a <strong>verb of change</strong>.</p><blockquote class="legacy-blockquote"><p>If the verb can be replaced with <span class="sp">ser</span> or with <span class="sp">estar</span> (without changing the meaning too much), it's a verb of change.</p></blockquote><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">Rafa <strong>se hace</strong> un bocadillo.</span><br><span class="sp">Rafa <strong>es</strong> un bocadillo.</span><br><span class="en">Rafa is not a sandwich, so <span class="sp">hacerse</span> must be acting as a <strong>regular verb</strong>.</span></p><p><span class="sp">Rafa <strong>se hace</strong> rico.</span><br><span class="sp">Rafa <strong>es</strong> rico.</span><br><span class="en">Rafa is rich, so <span class="sp">hacerse</span> is acting as a <strong>verb of change</strong>.</span></p></div><p>If we want to keep our sanity, we should only compare apples to apples (verbs of change to verbs of change).</p><p>For example, in the <em>regular verb</em> usage, it's totally fine to remove the pronoun: <span class="sp">Rafa hace un bocadillo</span> (<span class="en">Rafa makes a sandwich</span>). In the <em>verb of change</em> usage, it doesn't work: <span class="sp mistake">Rafa hace rico vendiendo sus bocadillos</span> (<span class="en">Rafa makes rich??</span>).</p><blockquote class="legacy-blockquote"><p>The relationship between the pronoun and the verb depends on what the verb is doing.</p></blockquote><p>Linguistics people call verbs like <span class="sp">hacerse</span>, <span class="sp">volverse</span>, <span class="sp">ponerse</span> and <span class="sp">quedarse</span> <strong>semicopulative verbs</strong> because they can do their own job, as well as the job of <span class="sp">ser</span> and <span class="sp">estar</span>, which are the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copula_(linguistics)"><strong>copulative verbs</strong></a>.</p><p>To complicate things further, verbs of change are only a subset of all semicopulative verbs. Other members include the <em>verbs of permanence</em> (<span class="sp">ando liado</span>, <span class="en">I walk busy / I'm kind of busy</span>) and the <em>verbs of presence</em> (<span class="sp">Te ves muy bien</span>, <span class="en">You look (yourself) very nice</span>), but they tend to be less problematic because they don't overlap that much with <em>become</em>.</p><p>I'll be referring to <em>verbs of change</em> throughout the article, but if you love precision, you can chant to yourself "<em>a subset of the semicopulative verbs</em>" as you read.</p><p>Great. Now that we know what verbs of change are, let's find out what makes them tick.</p><h2><a name="ser_vs_estar"></a> <span class="sp">Ser</span>-verbs vs. <span class="sp">Estar</span>-verbs</h2><p><img src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f4519ba9f481102acf2bea0/5fc910ed9d5fe47ee23ae5ab_ser_estarb.png" alt="ser_estar" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-378" /></p><p>Since verbs of change replace <span class="sp">ser</span> and <span class="sp">estar</span>, it's useful to classify them based on which one they replace.</p><p>Both <span class="sp">hacerse</span> and <span class="sp">volverse</span> have a happy monogamous relationship with <span class="sp">ser</span>, while <span class="sp">ponerse</span> and <span class="sp">quedarse</span> have one with <span class="sp">estar</span>. OK, <span class="sp">volverse</span> sometimes drives to the other side of town to hook up with some <span class="sp">estar</span> adjectives, but who are we to judge?</p><p>In case you need a reminder on the <a href="https://deliberatespanish.com/blog/ser-estar"><span class="sp">ser</span>/<span class="sp">estar</span> duality</a>, here is the one-two-punch summary:</p><ol><li><span class="sp">Ser's</span> main job is to describe the <em>essence</em> of things. Since this is a little abstract, I like to break it down further into <strong>identifying characteristics</strong> (nice, useful, exciting) and <strong>pigeonholing categories</strong> (lazy bones, darling, vegetarian; basically anything that completes the sentence "You're such a [whatever]!").</p></li><li><p><span class="sp">Estar's</span> main job is to describe the <em>state</em> of people and things.</p></li></ol><p>OK, time to get started with our first <span class="sp">ser</span>-verb.<h2><a name="hacerse"></a> <span class="sp">Hacerse</span></h2><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">—Ahora que Justin Bieber <strong>es famoso</strong>, <strong>soy fan</strong> suyo.</span><br><span class="en">"Now that Justin Bieber <strong>is (famous / a celebrity)</strong>, I <strong>am (a) fan</strong> of his."</span></p><p><span class="sp">—Pues yo ya <strong>era fan</strong> antes de que <strong>fuera famoso</strong>.</span><br><span class="en">"(Well) I <strong>was</strong> already <strong>(a) fan</strong> before he <strong>was (a) celebrity</strong>."</span></p></div><p>Those sentences are brimming with <em>essence</em>: <span class="sp">famoso</span> is an <strong>identifying characteristic</strong> of Mr. Bieber, <span class="sp">fan</span> is a <em>pigeonholing category</em> (You're such a Bieber fan!). The only problem is that they're a bit plain: he is <em>this</em> and I am <em>that</em>, and I was <em>that</em> before he was <em>this</em>.</p><p>To add some Spanish fire, we can describe the difference between being an average Joe and being a card-carrying fan, the difference between being a cute Canadian YouTuber and jam-packing stadiums—that is, <strong>the difference between being and becoming</strong>!</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">—Ahora que Justin Bieber es famoso, <strong>me he hecho fan</strong> suyo.</span><br><span class="en">"Now that Justin Bieber is (famous / a celebrity), I have <strong>(made myself / become) (a) fan</strong> of his."</span></p><p><span class="sp">—Pues yo ya era fan antes de que <strong>se hiciera famoso</strong>.</span><br><span class="en">"(Well) I was already (a) fan before he <strong>(made himself / became) (a) celebrity</strong>."</span></p></div><blockquote class="legacy-blockquote"><p><span class="sp">Hacerse</span> highlights the moment when you acquire a new <em>essential</em> (<span class="sp">ser</span>-like) characteristic.</p></blockquote><p>Infusing drama is not the only reason to replace <span class="sp">ser</span> with <span class="sp">hacerse</span>. Another reason for using it is when you care more about describing the <em>transition</em> to the new characteristic than the actual <em>possession</em> of it. This is a common gotcha when talking about what people do (or want to do) for a living:</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">—Oye, ¿y Paco no <strong>era</strong> arquitecto?</span><br><span class="en">"Listen, wasn't Paco (an) architect?"</span></p><p><span class="sp">—Sí, pero con la crisis <strong>se ha hecho</strong> alpinista.</span><br><span class="en">"Yeah, but with the crisis he has (made himself / become) (a) mountain climber."</span></p></div><p>Using <span class="sp">hacerse</span> instead of <span class="sp">ser</span> gives off the impression that, deep down, Paco is not a true mountain climber, he just became one for financial reasons. In English, there are no negative connotations with using <em>become</em> to describe your dreams, but in Spanish you're better off saying <span class="sp">quiero ser alpinista</span>.</p><blockquote class="legacy-blockquote"><p>When talking about your professional career, use <span class="sp">ser</span>.</p></blockquote><h3><a name="hacerse_species"></a> Other species of <span class="sp">hacerse</span></h3><p>The official Spanish dictionary lists <a href="https://dle.rae.es/?id=Jwhmcap">58 official meanings</a> for <span class="sp">hacer</span> (not counting expressions), and 17 of them involve <span class="sp">hacerse</span>. We don't really care about all these meanings (all we care about in this article is <strong>building a strong foundation</strong>), but we'll go through a couple of the most common variations of <span class="sp">hacerse</span> so you can notice them more easily when you run into them in the wild.</p><h4><a name="hacerse_deception"></a> <span class="sp">Hacerse</span> as deception</h4><p>It looks like <span class="sp">hacerse</span> + <span class="sp">el/la/los/las</span> + {noun/adjective}, and it means <span class="en">to play {noun/adjective}</span>.</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">Alfonso, no <strong>te hagas el tonto</strong> y devuélveme el dinero que te presté.</span><br><span class="en">Alfonso, don't (make yourself the dumb / play dumb) and give me back the money I lent you.</span></p><p><span class="sp">Cristiano Ronaldo <strong>se está haciendo la victima</strong>, pero ni siquiera le han rozado.</span><br><span class="en">Cristiano Ronaldo is (making himself the victim / playing the victim), but they didn't even graze him.</span></p><p><span class="sp">Ese <strong>se hace el despistado</strong>, pero es más listo que el hambre.</span><br><span class="en">That (one) is (making himself the clueless / playing dumb), but he's (smarter than the hunger / as cunning as a fox).</span></p></div><h4><a name="hacerse_perception"></a> <span class="sp">Hacerse</span> as perception</h4><p>It often looks like <span class="sp">hacerse</span> + personal pronoun + adjective, and it means <span class="en">someone experienced something in an {adjective} way</span>.</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">–Este viaje <strong>se me está haciendo</strong> interminable.</span><br><span class="en">"This trip feels neverending"</span></p><p><span class="sp">–Espero que lleguemos antes de que <strong>se haga</strong> de noche.</span><br><span class="en">"I hope we'll get there before it gets dark.</span></div></p><p>If you change the personal pronoun, you change the person doing the experiencing: <span class="sp">se <strong>te</strong> está haciendo largo</span> (<span class="en">you feel like it's long</span>), <span class="sp">se <strong>nos</strong> está haciendo corto</span> (<span class="en">we feel like it's short</span>), <span class="sp">se <strong>les</strong> está haciendo difícil</span> (<span class="en">they feel like it's difficult</span>).</p><p>The second sentence in the tweet is a very common way of talking about time (<span class="sp">hacerse de noche</span>, <span class="en">to get dark</span> or <span class="sp">hacerse tarde</span>, <span class="en">to get late</span>). If you ever need a wishy-washy excuse for being late, just add a personal pronoun:</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">Siento haberte tenido esperando tanto tiempo, pero es que se <strong>me</strong> hizo tarde.</span><br><span class="en">I lament having kept you waiting so much time, but (the thing is) that it got late <strong>on me</strong></span></p></div><h2><a name="volverse"></a> <span class="sp">Volverse</span></h2><p><span class="sp">Volverse</span> means <span class="en">to return (oneself)</span>. But that's the regular meaning; if you're literally <span class="en">returning home</span> (<span class="sp"><strong>me vuelvo</strong> a casa</span>), it's <strong>not</strong> acting as a verb of change.</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp"><strong>Me estás volviendo</strong> loco con la guitarra.</span><br><span class="en">"You're driving me crazy with that guitar"</span></p><p><span class="sp">–<strong>Te has vuelto</strong> un aburrido, papá.</span><br><span class="en">"You're no fun anymore, dad.</span></div></p><p><span class="sp">Volverse</span> acts as a verb of change when it describes a new <em>essential characteristic</em> (often a <strong>pigeonholing category</strong>) that someone acquires. For example, if someone used to be really fun, and is now kind of a drag, you could say <span class="sp">se ha vuelto un aburrido</span> (<span class="en">he has acquired the label of boring person</span>), which is more expressive than just saying <span class="sp">es un aburrido</span> (<span class="en">he's a boring person</span>).</p><p>That sounds a lot like what <span class="sp">hacerse</span> does, so what's the difference?</p><p><img src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f4519ba9f481102acf2bea0/5fd0fe6fc089924e2aa4ca18_hacerse_volverseb.png" alt="hacerse_volverseb" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-395" /></p><blockquote class="legacy-blockquote"><p><span class="sp">Volverse</span> emphasizes the contrast between how things used to be and how they are now.</p></blockquote><p>It's up to you to decide if you want to express surprise that someone who was unknown became famous (<span class="sp">Bieber se ha vuelto famoso</span>), or if you want to talk about their fame without caring about their past (<span class="sp">Bieber se ha hecho famoso</span>).</p><p>One more example to hammer the point home:</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp"><strong>Te has vuelto</strong> todo un bailarín. Me acuerdo cuando no sabías ni el paso básico.</span><br><span class="en">Focus on the past: You have (turned yourself / become) quite (a / the) dancer. I remember when you didn't even know the base step.</span></p><p><span class="sp"><strong>Te has hecho</strong> todo un bailarín. Supongo que dentro de poco abrirás tu escuela de baile.</span><br><span class="en">Focus on the future: You have (made yourself / become) quite (a / the) dancer. I assume that within (some time) you will open your dance (school / studio).</span></p></div><h3><span class="sp">Volverse's</span> adventures in <span class="sp">estar</span> land</h3><p>When <span class="sp">volverse</span> gets bored of describing changes in essential characteristics, it goes to hang out at <span class="sp">estar's</span> house and they geek out talking about <strong>changes in state</strong>.</p><p>The important thing about these changes is how likely they are to be <strong>either permanent or transitory</strong>. If someone becomes especially nice (or annoying), you will describe their change differently depending on how long you think it will last.</p><p><img src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f4519ba9f481102acf2bea0/5fc910ed97bf857a3b9b881d_volverse_ponerse_quedarse1b.png" alt="volverse_ponerse_quedarse1b" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-393" /></p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">—¿Por qué <strong>se ha vuelto</strong> tan pesado tu hermano?.</span><br><span class="en">"Why has your brother (turned himself / become) so annoying?"</span><br><span class="sp">—No sé. Estará en la edad del pavo.</span><br><span class="en">"I don't know. He must (be in / have hit) (the age of the turkey / puberty)"</span></p></div><p>All those <a href="https://deliberatespanish.com/blog/ser-estar#side_hustle_adjectives">adjectives that work with both <span class="sp">ser</span> and <span class="sp">estar</span></a> are great candidates for <span class="sp">volverse</span>, but its most famous companion is <span class="sp">loco</span> (<span class="en">mad/crazy</span>).</p><p>In Spanish, <span class="sp">loco</span> is considered a state of mind, so we say <span class="sp">estás loco</span> (<span class="en">you're (in a) crazy (state of mind)</span>). We almost exclusively say <span class="sp">te has vuelto loco</span> (<span class="en">you've gone mad/crazy</span>) because once you go crazy, we believe you'll be crazy forever.</p><h2><a name="ponerse"></a> <span class="sp">Ponerse</span></h2><p><img src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f4519ba9f481102acf2bea0/5fd0fe6605b52378bf045d0f_volverse_ponerse_quedarse2b.png" alt="volverse_ponerse_quedarse2b" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-392" /></p><p>In contrast to <span class="sp">volverse</span>, <span class="sp">ponerse</span> is used for changes in state that are likely to only last a short while.</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">Mi compañero de piso <strong>se está poniendo</strong> pesado.</span><br><span class="en">My roommate is (putting himself / becoming) annoying.</span></p><p><span class="sp">Mi compañero de piso <strong>se ha vuelto</strong> un pesado.</span><br><span class="en">My roommate has (turned himself into / become) an annoying (person).</span></p></div><p>In the first sentence, <span class="sp">ponerse</span> indicates that my roommate has left behind his normal neutral state and is now entering the <span class="sp">pesado</span> state. <strong>I secretly hope he will stop being annoying</strong>.</p><p>In the second sentence, <span class="sp">volverse</span> indicates that my roommate belongs to the <em>pigeonholing category</em> of <span class="sp">pesados</span> (<span class="en">annoying people</span>) and <strong>I no longer have any hope he will change</strong>.</p><blockquote class="legacy-blockquote"><p>If you think the change will be a brief one, use <span class="sp">ponerse</span>.</p></blockquote><p>We say <span class="sp">ponerse enferma</span> because we hope the state of <span class="en">getting sick</span> won't last. We say <span class="sp">ponerse rojo</span> because you only <span class="en">turn red (blush)</span> for a bit. We say <span class="sp">ponerse guapa</span> because you're temporarily going above your baseline level of <span class="en">beauty</span>, maybe for a special occasion, maybe to impress someone.</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">–Como <strong>te pongas</strong> ahora <strong>a lavar</strong> los platos, no llegamos.</span><br><span class="en">"If you (put yourself / start) now to wash the dishes, we won't get there in time"</span></p><p><span class="sp">–No <strong>te pongas</strong> nervioso y pásame los cubiertos.</span><br><span class="en">"Don't (put yourself / get) nervous and pass me the silverware.</span></p></div><p>In the middle of writing this article, I realized that <span class="sp">ponerse a lavar</span> is a completely different species of <span class="sp">ponerse</span>: it means to <strong>start doing something</strong>. You can use it with every verb that implies an action, without worrying about all the distinctions that its <em>verb of change</em> alter ego has to deal with.</p><p>So let's acknowledge the existence of this usage and move on:</p><blockquote class="legacy-blockquote"><p><span class="sp">Ponerse a {infinitivo}</span> is a great way to <strong>start doing something</strong>.</p></blockquote><p>The most glaring exception to the "<span class="sp">ponerse</span> is for temporary states" rule is <span class="sp"><strong>enfadarse/enojarse</strong></span> (<span class="en">to get angry</span>), which we never describe as <span class="sp mistake">ponerse enfadado</span> (in European Spanish) or <span class="sp mistake">ponerse enojado</span> (in American Spanish).</p><p>I have no idea why we don't use <span class="sp">ponerse</span> in that context. Maybe it's because if you're a little bit angry, you're already angry. No idea. All I can recommend, if you want to describe the anger build-up, is to use a <a href="https://deliberatespanish.com/blog/ser-estar#estar_gerund">gerund</a>:</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">—Mamá, ¿te <strong>estás enfadando</strong> con papá?</span><br><span class="en">"Mom, are you getting angry at dad?"</span></p><p><span class="sp">—No, hija. Ya <strong>estoy enfadada</strong> con él.</span><br><span class="en">"No, daughter. I'm already angry at him."</span></p></div><h2><a name="quedarse"></a> <span class="sp">Quedarse</span></h2><p><img src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f4519ba9f481102acf2bea0/5fd0fe6e422fa9353f272233_volverse_ponerse_quedarse3b.png" alt="volverse_ponerse_quedarse3b" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-391" /></p><p><span class="sp">Quedarse</span> doesn't care about the likelihood of change, the past or the future. It cares about <strong>the aftermath of events</strong> (<span class="sp">quedarse a gusto</span>, <span class="en">to feel satisfied (with something)</span>; <span class="sp">quedarse tranquilo</span>, <span class="en">to feel in peace / to relax (about something)</span>; <span class="sp">quedarse embarazada</span> <span class="en">to get pregnant</span>) and about <strong>anticlimactic situations</strong> (<span class="sp">quedarse dormido</span>, <span class="en">to fall asleep</span>; <span class="sp">quedarse quieto</span>, <span class="en">to remain still</span>; <span class="sp">quedarse callado</span>, <span class="en">to remain silent</span>).</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">—Pepe, no <strong>te quedes</strong> callado. Dile algo a mi madre.</span><br><span class="en">"Pepe, don't (stay yourself / remain) silent (anticlimactic). Say something to my mother."</span></p><p><span class="sp">—Si tengo suerte, un día de estos <strong>me quedaré</strong> soltero.</span><br><span class="en">"If I'm lucky, one of these days I will (stay myself / become) single (aftermath of a breakup)."</span></p></div><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">–¿Todo eso le dijiste a tu suegra? ¿Y cómo <strong>se quedó</strong>?</span><br><span class="en">"You said all that to your mother-in-law? And how did she take it?"</span></p><p><span class="sp">–Ella, no sé. Pero yo <strong>me quedé</strong> más a gusto que un arbusto.</span><br><span class="en">"I don't know about her, but I felt pretty satisfied.</span></div><br>Use <span class="sp">quedarse</span> to describe aftermaths and anticlimaxes.</p></blockquote><p>For some adjectives, figuring out the perfect verb of change is pretty straightforward; for others it depends on the context. For example: <span class="sp">contento</span> (<span class="en">happy/satisfied</span>). We are rarely happy and satisfied for long, so it smells like a job for <span class="sp">ponerse</span>, but we can also feel happy/satisfied with something after it happens, so <span class="sp">quedarse</span> is also an option:</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp"><strong>Me puse</strong> muy contento cuando me dijiste que ibas a venir…</span><br><span class="en">I (put myself / became) very happy when you told me you were going to come….</span></p><p><span class="sp">…pero <strong>me quedé</strong> más contento todavía cuando te fuiste.</span><br><span class="en">…but I (stayed myself / got) (more happy / even happier) still when you went away.</span></p></div><p>Both sentences could be flipped around and they would still work: <span class="sp">Me quedé muy contento cuando me dijiste que ibas a venir, pero me puse más contento todavía cuando te fuiste.</span> (Great <a href="https://deliberatespanish.com/blog/intermediate-purgatory#deliberate-looping">deliberate looping exercise</a>, by the way).</p><p>Figuring out these nuances is what makes learning Spanish fun. If you want rigid rules, you're better off learning a programming language like COBOL.</p><h3><a name="quedarse_vs_quedar"></a> <span class="sp">Quedarse</span> is not <span class="sp">quedar</span></h3><p>Just like the rest of verbs of change, <span class="sp">quedarse</span> has its literal meaning as a regular verb (<span class="en">to stay in one place</span>), and another bunch of meanings (with and without the pronoun). Let's try to preempt some future confusion:</p><ol><li>When <span class="sp">quedar</span> means <strong>to meet</strong>, it <strong>never</strong> has a pronoun.</li><li>When <span class="sp">quedarse</span> means <strong>to <em>literally</em> stay</strong>, it <strong>always</strong> has a pronoun (and it's not a verb of change).</li></ol><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">—Al final, ¿<strong>quedamos</strong> el viernes o el sábado?</span><br><span class="en">"At the end, <strong>(do we meet / are we meeting)</strong> (the / on) Friday or (the / on) Saturday?"</span></p><p><span class="sp">—El sábado. Pero prefiero que <strong>nos quedemos</strong> en casa viendo una peli.</span><br><span class="en">"(The / on) Saturday. But I prefer that <strong>we (literally) stay</strong> home watching a (film)."</span></p></div><h2>Spanish takeaways</h2><p><img src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f4519ba9f481102acf2bea0/5fd0fe68b4e4585a8bf6044c_summaryb.png" alt="summaryb" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-394" /></p><p>We just went on a pretty hard-core tour of the four main verbs of change:</p><ol><li><span class="sp">Hacerse</span> and <span class="sp">volverse</span> act as verbs of change when they replace <span class="sp">ser</span> (<strong>changes in essence</strong>).</p></li><li><p><span class="sp">Volverse</span> is <strong>past-focused</strong> and <span class="sp">hacerse</span> is not.</p></li><li><p><span class="sp">Ponerse</span> and <span class="sp">quedarse</span> (and sometimes <span class="sp">volverse</span>) act as verbs of change when they replace <span class="sp">estar</span> (<strong>changes in state</strong>).</p></li><li><p><span class="sp">Ponerse</span> describes changes in state that are <strong>likely to change</strong>, while <span class="sp">volverse</span> focuses on changes that are <strong>unlikely to change</strong>.</p></li><li><p><span class="sp">Quedarse</span> cares about <strong>aftermaths and anticlimaxes</strong>.</p></li></ol><p>Now that you have a logical understanding of the underpinning of Spanish verbs of change, <strong>forget about all this</strong> and start making a list of sentences that you like, or that confuse you.<p>Say them out loud in the shower, on your way to work, while doing the dishes.</p><p>Get a little obsessed.</p><p>I promise it's worth it.</p><hr /><p>Approximately 1.5 tons of ❤️ went into writing this. If you liked it, share it with your friends.</p>