What is the present subjunctive of poner in Spanish?

The present subjunctive of poner is: ponga, pongas, ponga, pongamos, pongáis, pongan. Derived from the irregular yo form pongo. The G stays in every form.

How is the reflexive subjunctive of ponerse formed?

Add a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) before the regular subjunctive form: me ponga, te pongas, se ponga, nos pongamos, os pongáis, se pongan. The pronoun goes between que and the verb (que te pongas).

What's the difference between subjunctive poner and ponerse?

Poner = put or place something (Quiero que pongas la mesa, I want you to set the table). Ponerse = put on clothes, become a state, get in agreement (Quiero que te pongas el abrigo, I want you to put on your coat). Reflexive ponerse always takes a reflexive pronoun.

What are the most common subjunctive uses of poner?

Wishes about placing or setting (quiero que pongas), recommendations about behavior (te recomiendo que pongas atención), reflexive uses about putting on clothes or becoming states (que te pongas el abrigo, que se ponga mejor), and idiomatic phrases (que pongan música, que pongamos límites).

How can I learn subjunctive poner naturally?

Poner appears in countless idioms and everyday contexts: setting tables, putting things away, paying attention, putting on clothes. Parrot's short-form videos surface these contexts repeatedly, so ponga / pongas / pongamos become automatic with exposure.

Spanish grammar · Intermediate

Subjunctive of Poner: All Forms with Examples

Written by Sofia Ramirez, Lead Spanish Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

Poner's present subjunctive comes from the yo form pongo: ponga, pongas, ponga, pongamos, pongáis, pongan. The G stays in every form. Used after standard W.E.I.R.D.O. triggers.

Quiero que pongas la mesa.

I want you to set the table.

What it is

Poner's present subjunctive derives from the irregular yo form pongo: ponga, pongas, ponga, pongamos, pongáis, pongan. The G carries through every form. Like other yo-form-derived subjunctives (tener, hacer, decir, venir, salir), it follows the standard pattern.

In Quiero que pongas la mesa (I want you to set the table), pongas is the tú subjunctive of poner. The wish trigger forces the mood shift.

How to spot it

Look for pong- followed by -a endings: ponga, pongas, ponga, pongamos, pongáis, pongan.

Espero que pongas atención. — I hope you pay attention.
Dudo que pongan precio justo. — I doubt they'll set a fair price.
Es importante que pongamos límites. — It's important we set limits.

Poner shows up in countless idioms (poner atención, poner la mesa, ponerse + clothing, ponerse + emotion) and the subjunctive forms appear with all of them.

Subjunctive of Poner Quick Reference

Present subjunctive of poner, all six forms

Person	Form	Translation
yo	ponga	(that) I put/place
tú	pongas	(that) you put/place
él/ella/Ud.	ponga	(that) he, she, you (formal) put/place
nosotros	pongamos	(that) we put/place
vosotros	pongáis	(that) you all put/place (Spain)
ellos/Uds.	pongan	(that) they, you all put/place

Common Subjunctive of Poner Examples in Spanish

Subjunctive poner shows up in wishes about placing or setting things, recommendations about behavior (pon atención), and reflexive uses (que se ponga el abrigo, that he put on his coat).

Wishes (querer que, esperar que)

Quiero que pongas la mesa.: I want you to set the table.
Espero que pongan música.: I hope they play music.
Deseo que pongamos un poco de orden.: I wish we'd bring some order.
Quiere que ponga sus libros aquí.: She wants me to put her books here.
Esperan que pongas atención.: They hope you pay attention.

Wishes about putting, placing, setting things take the subjunctive of poner.

Recommendations About Behavior

Te recomiendo que pongas atención.: I recommend you pay attention.
Sugiero que pongamos límites.: I suggest we set limits.
Te pido que pongas tu mejor esfuerzo.: I'm asking you to put in your best effort.
Le digo que ponga la calefacción.: I'm telling him to turn on the heat.
Nos sugiere que pongamos un horario.: She suggests we set a schedule.

Recommendations involving poner + idiomatic phrases (poner atención, poner límites, poner orden, poner un horario) appear constantly in advice contexts.

Reflexive Subjunctive (ponerse)

Quiero que te pongas el abrigo.: I want you to put on the coat.
Espero que se ponga cómodo.: I hope he gets comfortable.
Es bueno que nos pongamos serios.: It's good we get serious.
Dudo que se pongan de acuerdo.: I doubt they'll agree.
Me alegro de que te pongas mejor.: I'm glad you're getting better.

Reflexive ponerse covers putting on clothes, becoming a state, and getting in agreement. The reflexive pronoun goes before the subjunctive form (te pongas, se ponga).

Impersonal Triggers

Es importante que pongas tu nombre.: It's important you put your name.
Es necesario que ponga la fecha.: It's necessary that he put the date.
Es mejor que pongamos todo en orden.: It's better we put everything in order.
Es raro que pongan la música tan alta.: It's strange they play the music so loud.
Es bueno que pongas dinero en el ahorro.: It's good you put money into savings.

Impersonal expressions about setting, placing, or organizing trigger the subjunctive of poner.

How to Form the Subjunctive of Poner

Derive from the Yo Form Pongo

Poner's subjunctive uses yo form minus -o plus -a endings. Pongo → pong- → ponga, pongas, ponga, pongamos, pongáis, pongan. The G is preserved in all six forms.

poner → pongo → pong- → ponga, pongas, ponga, pongamos, pongáis, pongan.

Yo form minus -o, plus -a endings.

Same pattern as tener (tenga), hacer (haga), decir (diga), salir (salga).

G Across All Six Forms

Unlike the present indicative (where ponemos / ponéis drop the G), the subjunctive keeps the G in nosotros (pongamos) and vosotros (pongáis). Consistent stem pong- throughout.

Pres. ind.: ponemos. Pres. subj.: pongamos.

Subjunctive: G in all six forms.

G everywhere in subjunctive; G only in yo in indicative.

Reflexive Form: Ponerse

Poner has a very common reflexive form ponerse (to put on, become, get). In the subjunctive, the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes before the subjunctive form. Quiero que te pongas el abrigo (I want you to put on your coat).

te pongas, se ponga, nos pongamos, os pongáis, se pongan.

Reflexive pronoun before subjunctive form.

que + pronoun + subjunctive form.

Same Triggers as All Subjunctives

Subjunctive poner responds to all standard W.E.I.R.D.O. triggers. Frequently appears with idiomatic phrases (poner atención, poner la mesa, poner música, ponerse + clothing).

Quiero que. Es importante que. Te recomiendo que.

Same triggers across all verbs.

Trigger + que = subjunctive.

Common Mistakes with Subjunctive of Poner

Incorrect: Quiero que pones la mesa. — I want you to set the table. (wrong, indicative after querer que)

Correct: Quiero que pongas la mesa. — I want you to set the table.

After querer que, the dependent verb must be in the subjunctive. Pones is the indicative; pongas is the tú subjunctive, derived from yo pongo.

Incorrect: Es importante que ponemos atención. — It's important we pay attention. (wrong, indicative nosotros)

Correct: Es importante que pongamos atención. — It's important we pay attention.

After es importante que, the nosotros form must be subjunctive (pongamos), not indicative (ponemos). The G stays in all subjunctive forms.

Incorrect: Quiero que pongas te el abrigo. — I want you to put on the coat. (wrong, pronoun placement)

Correct: Quiero que te pongas el abrigo. — I want you to put on the coat.

Reflexive pronouns (te, se, nos) go before the conjugated subjunctive form, not after. Que te pongas, not que pongas te.

Subjunctive of Poner FAQs

What is the present subjunctive of poner in Spanish?: The present subjunctive of poner is: ponga, pongas, ponga, pongamos, pongáis, pongan. Derived from the irregular yo form pongo. The G stays in every form.
How is the reflexive subjunctive of ponerse formed?: Add a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) before the regular subjunctive form: me ponga, te pongas, se ponga, nos pongamos, os pongáis, se pongan. The pronoun goes between que and the verb (que te pongas).
What's the difference between subjunctive poner and ponerse?: Poner = put or place something (Quiero que pongas la mesa, I want you to set the table). Ponerse = put on clothes, become a state, get in agreement (Quiero que te pongas el abrigo, I want you to put on your coat). Reflexive ponerse always takes a reflexive pronoun.
What are the most common subjunctive uses of poner?: Wishes about placing or setting (quiero que pongas), recommendations about behavior (te recomiendo que pongas atención), reflexive uses about putting on clothes or becoming states (que te pongas el abrigo, que se ponga mejor), and idiomatic phrases (que pongan música, que pongamos límites).
How can I learn subjunctive poner naturally?: Poner appears in countless idioms and everyday contexts: setting tables, putting things away, paying attention, putting on clothes. Parrot's short-form videos surface these contexts repeatedly, so ponga / pongas / pongamos become automatic with exposure.