Idioms are sayings where the real meaning and the literal meaning don’t match up.<\/p>\n
In English, for example, we have phrases like “raining cats and dogs” and “break a leg.” Nobody thinks these mean that animals are falling from the sky or that we wish somebody harm.<\/p>\n
Spanish also has plenty of idioms. One such phrase is “ponte las pilas.”<\/p>\n
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‘Ponte las pilas’ is a spirited Spanish idiom translating literally to ‘put the batteries in.’ Despite its literal meaning, the phrase, akin to ‘se pone las pilas’ (‘he\/she puts batteries in’), communicates an encouragement to work diligently and focus better. It’s akin to English exhortations like ‘get it together’ and ‘you can do this.’<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Spanish and English are both subject verb object languages, so the structure of this idiom is easy to understand.<\/p>\n “Ponte” is the imperative<\/a><\/strong> form of the verb poner (put), meaning it’s used to give commands. In other words, when you say “ponte” you’re telling someone to put something somewhere.<\/p>\n Next, the word “las” is the definite article, like the word “the” in English. It’s both feminine and plural, because the word that follows it is a feminine noun and in plural form.<\/p>\n That word is “pilas,” the plural form of the Spanish word for battery (pila). As noted, Spanish has feminine and masculine nouns, and this one is feminine.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Of course, you could use this phrase to tell someone a T.V. remote is out of batteries and they need to put some in it. However, since this expression is idiomatic that isn’t the main way it’s used.<\/p>\n Instead, “ponte las pilas” is a phrase that uses batteries metaphorically to talk about somebody’s energy level. English equivalents might include “hang in there,” “don’t give up<\/a><\/strong>,” “you can do it” or other encouraging phrases.<\/p>\n However, “ponte las pilas” can also be used to tell somebody they need to pay more attention to something or work harder.<\/p>\n “¡Quiero renunciar!”<\/strong><\/p>\n “Ponte las pilas.”<\/strong><\/p>\n “I want to quit!”<\/p>\n “Hang in there.”<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n “No entiendo esta pregunta de matemáticas.”<\/strong><\/p>\n “¡Ponte las pilas!”<\/strong><\/p>\n “I don’t understand this math question.”<\/p>\n “You should pay more attention!”<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n In the second example, it’s important to realize that the Spanish is much more nuanced than the English translation, as the phrase also<\/em> still encourages the first speaker to try harder.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This idiom can also be used to talk about somebody, in the form “se pone las pilas.”<\/p>\nThe parts of “ponte las pilas”<\/h2>\n
How to use “ponte las pilas”<\/h2>\n
Examples<\/h3>\n
The phrase “se pone las pilas”<\/h2>\n