LingoflyBecame: ponerse, quedarse, volverse, hacerse
English 'became' fits every case: became pale, became deaf, became a doctor. Spanish has no single verb for it, but four, and you pick by the kind of change. For example: “Se puso enfermo el día antes del viaje” — He fell ill the day before the trip. A rule from the Spanish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English 'became' fits every case: became pale, became deaf, became a doctor. Spanish has no single verb for it, but four, and you pick by the kind of change.
Ponerse is a fast change that will pass: ponerse enfermo is to fall ill, ponerse rojo to blush. It always takes an adjective, never a noun.
Quedarse is a change that stayed: quedarse sordo is to go deaf, quedarse dormido to fall asleep. Se puso enfermo will get better; se quedó cojo did not.
Volverse is a change of character, usually for the worse: se ha vuelto muy desconfiado. Hacerse is a change you worked for: hacerse médico, hacerse rico. Only hacerse takes a profession.
Table
| verb | what kind of change | example | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ponerse | fast, will pass | ponerse enfermo | to fall ill |
| ponerse | the same | ponerse nervioso | to get nervous |
| quedarse | stays for good | quedarse sordo | to go deaf |
| quedarse | the same | quedarse dormido | to fall asleep |
| volverse | character, for the worse | volverse desconfiado | to become distrustful |
| hacerse | by one's own effort | hacerse médico | to become a doctor |
| llegar a ser | a long road | llegar a ser director | to work one's way up to director |
By example
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Became: how does it work in Spanish?
English 'became' fits every case: became pale, became deaf, became a doctor. Spanish has no single verb for it, but four, and you pick by the kind of change.
What does it look like in a Spanish example sentence?
“Se puso enfermo el día antes del viaje” — He fell ill the day before the trip. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.