5.9: “To become” + “to realize”
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Objetivos
Understand and use the various ways to say “to become” and “to realize” in Spanish
Note: This section’s grammar involves some verbs that are not only reflexive, but also frequently (not exclusively) used with the preterit past tense.
“To become” en español
There are three verbs in Spanish that are used reflexively and imply transformations or changes; these verbs are not interchangeable! Note the situations described below for each verb:
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Ponerse
(sudden, physical or emotional change, effortless, almost always a person)
Examples: -
Volverse
(sudden and extreme transformation, emotional/physical/situational, involuntary change; doesn’t have to be a person)
Examples:- Mi perro se vuelve loco con el olor a comida. ( My dog goes crazy with the smell of food. )
- La madre se volvió un ogro cuando trataron de hacerle daño a sus hijos. ( The mother turned into an ogress when they tried to harm her children .)
- La situación se volvió peligrosa cuando empezó a nevar y la temperatura bajó rápidamente. ( The situation got dangerous when it started to snow and the temperature dropped quickly .)
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Hacerse/
Pasar a ser/
Llegar a ser
(long term, requires an effort; these are usually used in the past when the action is completed)
Examples:
Darse cuenta de
This is often translated into English as “to realize”, meaning “to find out” or “to know for the first time”. When followed by a noun or an infinitive use “darse cuenta de”. When followed by a conjugated verb, standard Spanish uses “darse cuenta que”, but it’s possible to say “darse cuenta de que”.
Examples:
- Las personas que escuchan música con audífonos en el metro no se dan cuenta de lo fuerte que es el sonido. ( The people who listen to music on headphones on the subway don’t realize how loud the sound is .)
- Dejé mi pasaporte en el hotel y solo me di cuenta del error cuando llegué al aeropuerto. ( I left my passport in the hotel and only realized my error when I got to the airport .)
¡OJO! There is a related false cognate that English speakers will need to be careful of—“realizar” actually means “to make real” or “to achieve”.