Became: ponerse, quedarse, volverse, hacerse
English has one 'became' for every change: became pale, became deaf, became a doctor, became unbearable — well, not quite: 'got pale', 'went deaf', 'turned nasty' show English has its own set. Spanish has no verb 'to become' at all — instead four different ones, and they are chosen by what kind of change it is. In talk about health they come up at every step. For example: “Se puso enfermo el día antes del viaje”…
How it works
English has one 'became' for every change: became pale, became deaf, became a doctor, became unbearable — well, not quite: 'got pale', 'went deaf', 'turned nasty' show English has its own set. Spanish has no verb 'to become' at all — instead four different ones, and they are chosen by what kind of change it is. In talk about health they come up at every step.
Ponerse — a fast change of state that will pass. Ponerse enfermo — to fall ill, ponerse rojo — to go red, ponerse nervioso — to get nervous, ponerse bueno — to get better. English plays the same game with 'get': get sick, get nervous. This is the most frequent of the four, and it always takes an adjective, never a noun.
Quedarse — a change that stays. Quedarse sordo — to go deaf, quedarse en los huesos — to waste away, quedarse dormido — to fall asleep, quedarse sin voz — to lose one's voice. The difference from ponerse is purely temporal: se puso enfermo — fell ill and will recover; se quedó cojo — stayed lame.
Volverse — a change of character, usually for the worse and for good. Se ha vuelto muy desconfiado — he has become very distrustful, volverse loco — to go mad (English 'go' works the same way). Hacerse — a change the person worked for: hacerse médico, hacerse rico, hacerse vegetariano. Only hacerse takes a noun — a profession or a creed.
And nearby stands llegar a ser — 'to end up becoming', about a long road: llegó a ser director. The test is simple: if the change just happened — ponerse or quedarse; if the person made it happen — hacerse; if the character soured — volverse.
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
- Se puso enfermo el día antes del viajeHe fell ill the day before the trip
- Después de la operación se quedó sin voz una semanaAfter the operation he was without a voice for a week
- Con los años se ha vuelto muy desconfiadoOver the years he has grown very distrustful
- Se hizo enfermera a los cuarentaShe became a nurse at forty
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 has one 'became' for every change: became pale, became deaf, became a doctor, became unbearable — well, not quite: 'got pale', 'went deaf', 'turned nasty' show English has its own set. Spanish has no verb 'to become' at all — instead four different ones, and they are chosen by what kind of…
What does it look like in an example sentence Spanish?
“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.