Poner Verb Conjugation in Spanish

Poner is a common irregular verb in Spanish and important to know how to conjugate. In addition, it is a very polysemic verb, which means it can have a lot of different meanings. As a matter of fact, the American Heritage Spanish dictionary lists numerous meanings for poner. Here are some of the most commonly used ones:

The sun set at 7 P.M.

to put
to give a grade
to lay (eggs)
to turn on
to wear
to become/get: me puse triste - I got sad
to set (for the sun)

Conjugations

On top of its many meanings, poner has the added complexity of being a strongly irregular verb. With that in mind, study the tables and examples below carefully.

Present

Yo	pongo	*Nosotros/Nosotras*	ponemos
*Tú (Vos)*	pones (ponés)	*Vosotros/Vosotras*	ponéis
*Él/Ella/Usted*	pone	*Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes*	ponen

Examples:

Los exámenes me ponen muy nervioso. - Exams make me very nervous.
¿Dónde pusiste las llaves?- Where did you put the keys?

Imperfect

Yo	ponía	*Nosotros/Nosotras*	poníamos
*Tú/Vos*	ponías	*Vosotros/Vosotras*	poníais
*Él/Ella/Usted*	ponía	*Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes*	ponían

Examples:

Mi abuela siempre le ponía canela al té. - My grandmother would always put cinnamon in her tea.
No sabía que le ponías azúcar al café. - I didn't know you put sugar in your coffee.

Preterite

Yo	puse	*Nosotros/Nosotras*	pusimos
*Tú/Vos*	pusiste	*Vosotros/Vosotras*	pusisteis
*Él/Ella/Usted*	puso	*Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes*	pusieron

Examples:

Hace frío, por eso me puse bufanda. - It's cold; that's why I wore a scarf.
El sol se puso a las 7 P. M. - The sun set at 7 P. M.

Future

Yo	pondré	*Nosotros/Nosotras*	pondremos
*Tú/Vos*	pondrás	*Vosotros/Vosotras*	pondréis
*Él/Ella/Usted*	pondrá	*Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes*	pondrán

Examples:

Si no te molesta, pondré la calefacción. - If it's ok with you, I will turn the heating on.
Pondré el agua en la heladera. - I will put the water in the fridge.

Conditional

Yo	pondría	*Nosotros/Nosotras*	pondríamos
*Tú/Vos*	pondrías	*Vosotros/Vosotras*	pondríais
*Él/Ella/Usted*	pondría	*Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes*	pondrían

Examples:

Nunca pensé que el profesor me pondría un 10. - I didn't think the teacher would give me a 10.
La gallina pondría más huevos si fuese más grande. - The hen would lay more eggs if it were bigger.

As complicated as the conjugation of poner may seem, it's a very common verb, so you'll be using it so often that soon you will find yourself conjugating it without even thinking about it.