ponerme al día contigo
/poneɾme al dia kontiɡo/from spelling rules
The English phrase "catch up with you" is translated into Spanish as ponerme al día contigo.
This phrase is used when you want to talk to someone you have not seen for a while in order to learn what has been happening in their life.
What does it mean word for word?
The expression is composed of the reflexive verb ponerse (to put oneself), the prepositional phrase al día (to the day or up to date) and contigo (with you).
How does it change in a sentence?
The form ponerme al día contigo uses the reflexive pronoun me attached to the infinitive poner, which is used when the subject is "I". If you and another person want to catch up with a third person, you change the reflexive pronoun to nos to say ponernos al día contigo.
Did you know?
- The word día in this phrase shares an ancient ancestor with the word for 'sky' or 'heaven', stemming from a Proto-Indo-European root for the deity of the heavens.
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, catching up is often accompanied by the phrase tomar un café, even if neither person actually drinks coffee.
- The phrase al día is used in many contexts beyond social life, such as in the newspaper section 'actualidad' or when saying one is 'up to date' with the news.
Examples in context
- Permítame que nos reunamos para hablar de las novedades.Allow me to meet with you to catch up on the news.
- ¿Cuándo te puedo llamar para ponernos al tanto?When can I call you to catch up?
- Hagamos una quedada este fin de semana para ponernos al día.Let's arrange a get-together this weekend to catch up.
- ¡Tenemos tanto que contarnos! Vamos a reponer el tiempo perdido.We have so much to catch up on! Let's make up for lost time.
- Tenemos que ponernos al día pronto.We have to catch up soon.
- Necesito ponerme al día contigo pronto.I need to catch up with you soon.
- Me gustaría ponerme al día contigo y tomar un café.I would like to catch up with you and have a coffee.
- Mañana te llamo para ponerme al día contigo.I will call you tomorrow to catch up with you.
Example conversation
Two old friends meet by chance on the street.
- Elena¡Hola, Alejandro! Hace mucho que no te veo.Hi, Alejandro! I haven't seen you in a long time.
- Alejandro¡Hola, Elena! Es verdad, ha pasado mucho tiempo.Hi, Elena! It's true, it has been a long time.
- ElenaNecesito ponerme al día contigo. ¿Tienes tiempo hoy?I need to catch up with you. Do you have time today?
- AlejandroSí, podemos tomar un café ahora mismo.Yes, we can have a coffee right now.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries contigo, día, CC BY-SA 4.0.
