Poner is one of the most common irregular verbs in Spanish. It can be translated as to put, to place or to turn on. Today we are going to go through six Spanish idioms with poner. Let’s see them!

Poner de patitas en la calle (to give someone the boot)

Poner de patitas en la calle is a colloquial idiom that means to dismiss or to throw someone out. Probably an English equivalent would be to give someone the boot.

Si sigues tocando la guitarra todas las noches, te pondremos de patitas en la calle.

If you keep on playing guitar every night, we’ll give you the boot.

Cada día tus horas de trabajo son menos productivas. Te pondrán de patitas en la calle.

Every day, your hours of work are less productive. They’re going to give you the boot.

Poner en un aprieto (to put on the spot)

Poner en un aprieto means to put someone on the spot, that is, to put them in an awkward situation. There are more idioms with poner with the same meaning. For example, one of them could be poner en evidencia.

María me puso en un aprieto. Me metió en una situación muy comprometida.

María put me on the spot. She put me into a very compromising situation.

Cuando le hicieron aquella pregunta personal a Antonio, le pusieron en un aprieto.

When they asked Antonio that personal question, they put him on the spot.

Poner tierra de por medio (to make yourself scarce)

Poner tierra de por medio (to make yourself scarce) is said when you want to get away as quickly as possible, from someone or from something.

Opino que el chico del que te has enamorado no es una buena persona. Es mejor que pongas tierra de por medio y te olvides de él.

I think the guy you’ve fallen in love with isn’t a good person. You’d better make yourself scarce and forget about him.

Dicen que la distancia es el olvido. A veces, lo mejor que puedes hacer es poner tierra de por medio y empezar de cero.

They say that out of sight is out of mind. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is make yourself scarce and start from zero.

Ponerse en el lugar de alguien (to put oneself in someone’s shoes)

Probably one of the most popular idioms with poner is ponerse en el lugar de. It means to put oneself in someone’s shoes.

No puedo ponerme en tu lugar, nunca he estado en una situación como la tuya.

I can’t empathize with you, I’ve never been in a situation like yours.

Si me pongo en tu lugar, entiendo por qué no puedes aceptarlo. Sería un gran sacrificio dejar a tu familia y aceptar un trabajo en Australia.

Putting myself in your shoes, I understand why you couldn’t accept it. Leaving your family and accepting a job in Australia would be a huge sacrifice on your part.

Poner los cuernos (to cheat on someone)

Let’s continue reviewing colloquial idioms with poner. The phrase poner los cuernos means to cheat on someone.

Después de varios años juntos, él le puso los cuernos con su mejor amiga. Cuando ella se enteró, rompió con él.

After several years together, he cheated on her with her best friend. When she found out, she broke up with him.

¿Por qué me cuentas que Ana le está poniendo los cuernos a Juan? Me has puesto en un aprieto, porque los dos son amigos míos.

Why are you telling me that Ana is cheating on Juan? You’ve put me in a tight spot, because they’re both friends of mine.

Poner las cartas sobre la mesa (to lay someone’s cards on the table)

Let’s finish reviewing today’s idioms with poner with the following one: poner las cartas sobre la mesa. It means to lay someone’s cards on the table.

Es más directo que nosotros. Le gusta poner las cartas sobre la mesa y hablar del problema antes de tomar una decisión.

He is more direct than us. He likes to lay his cards on the table and talk about the problem before taking a decision.

Pon las cartas sobre la mesa. Necesitamos hablar para evitar malentendidos.

Lay your cards on the table. We need to talk to avoid misunderstandings.

Exercises

There are more idioms with poner. These were just a few. In our blog, you can also practice idioms with echar, estar, hacer or tener.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

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Idioms and Phrases