Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide

41Expressing changesIn English, transformations experienced by the subject are expressed in a number ofways, which are not always interchangeable. Consider, for example, the followingsentences:She became very sad after she heard the news.He got furious at me.He went mad.The new waiter has turned lazy.She grew very old.It started to rain.Spanish also uses different verbs to express ideas such as these. As in English,these verbs are not always interchangeable, as you will see from the examplesbelow:41.141.1.1Talking about temporary changesPonerse + adjectiveChanges regarded as temporary are normally expressed through the verb ponerse, ‘tobecome’, ‘to get’, followed by an adjective. The transformations expressed by ponerse,normally refer to changes in the subject’s mood or appearance. These may be sudden,as in:242or gradual, as in:Ella se puso muy triste.She became very sad.Gonzalo se puso furioso conmigo.Gonzalo got furious at me.Elena se puso muy gorda.Elena became very fat.Los días se están poniendo calurosos.The days are getting warm.Note that the idea expressed by ponerse + adjective is closely linked to the oneconveyed by estar + adjective, with the first emphasizing the transformation itself andthe second stressing the result of that transformation.