¡Hola, amigos! Do you remember the reflexive form of poner (to put)? It’s ponerse, and it has several meanings.
In this post we’ll learn a few verbs formed by adding prefixes to ponerse. The great thing is that all of these verbs share exactly the same conjugation patterns as ponerse, so you don’t have to learn those patterns again. First, here’s a list:
| # | ESPAÑOL | ENGLISH |
| 1 | DESCOMPONERSE | TO DECOMPOSE, TO FEEL UNWELL, TO GET SICK |
| 2 | DISPONERSE | TO PREPARE ONESELF, TO SET ONESELF UP |
| 3 | EXPONERSE | TO EXPOSE ONESELF |
| 4 | IMPONERSE | TO ASSERT ONESELF |
| 5 | INTERPONERSE | TO INTERVENE |
| 6 | OPONERSE | TO OPPOSE ONESELF |
| 7 | PROPONERSE | TO INTEND, TO BE DETERMINED TO |
| 8 | REPONERSE | TO RECOVER, TO GET BETTER |
| 9 | SOBREPONERSE | TO OVERCOME |
| 10 | SUPERPONERSE | TO OVERLAP |
| 11 | SUPONERSE | TO BE SUPPOSED |
Here are examples showing how each of these verbs is used:
1. Descomponerse – To decompose / To feel unwell / To get sick
Él se descompuso después de comer la comida en mal estado.
He got sick after eating the spoiled food.
2. Disponerse – To prepare oneself / To set oneself up
Este hombre se dispuso a terminar con el crimen.
This man set out to end crime.
3. Exponerse – To expose oneself
No te expongas al sol sin protección.
Don’t expose yourself to the sun without protection.
4. Imponerse – To assert oneself
Ella se impone en las reuniones con su confianza.
She asserts herself in meetings with confidence.
5. Interponerse – To intervene
Se interpuso entre los dos para evitar la pelea.
He intervened between the two to prevent the fight.
6. Oponerse – To oppose oneself
Se opone a la decisión tomada por el equipo.
He opposes the decision made by the team.
7. Proponerse – To intend / To be determined to
Juan se propuso aprender a tocar guitarra este año.
Juan set out to learn how to play the guitar this year.
8. Reponerse – To recover / To get better
Ella se repuso rápidamente después de la enfermedad.
She recovered quickly after the illness.
9. Sobreponerse – To overcome
Debes sobreponerte a los desafíos que enfrentas.
You must overcome the challenges you face.
10. Superponerse – To overlap
Las imágenes se superponen en la presentación.
The images overlap in the presentation.
11. Suponerse – To be supposed to
Se supone que llegues temprano mañana.
You are supposed to arrive early tomorrow.
Games will be coming soon!
