Poneos?

Question

I am not sure why poneos is used in the sentence "Cuando os tumbéis en la playa poneos la crema solar."

Inma Sánchez · Accepted Answer

Hola Pat
For a command you need the form of the imperative: poneos
"Os ponéis" is conjugating the verb "ponerse" in the present tense, for example:

Vosotros siempre os ponéis crema solar.
You always put on suncream.

But as a command:

Poneos crema solar!
Put on some suncream!

You won't find the word poneos in the dictionary because it is a conjugated verb and it has a pronoun attached to it, but you will find the infinitive "ponerse".
I hope this clarified it.
Saludos
Inma

Silvia Piriz · Answer

Hola Gail, thanks for contacting us and sorry about our delay. The form "poneos" comes from the reflexive verb "ponerse" in the 2nd person plural ("vosotros"). The original form should be "ponedos" but we need to remove the -d due to phonetical reasons when using the 2nd person plural and pronouns starting by a vowel. I hope that this is clearer now. Gracias! Silvia.

pat bilotta · Answer

Hola, Could one use os poneis ? In the textbook 501 Spanish Verbs, the word poneos does not exist.