ponerse del lado de
/poneɾse del lado de/from spelling rules
To side with is translated into Spanish as ponerse del lado de.
The phrase is used to express the act of supporting or agreeing with a specific person or group during a dispute or an argument. For a more formal alternative, you can use the verb respaldar.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the reflexive verb ponerse (to put oneself) and del lado de (on the side of).
Which one should you use?
There is a distinction between choosing a side and already having a position: ponerse del lado de implies the active choice or movement to join a side, whereas estar del lado de describes the state of already being on someone's side.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because this phrase uses the reflexive verb ponerse, you must conjugate the verb poner and place the appropriate reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) in the correct position. For example, the first person singular past tense of the phrase is me puse del lado de (I sided with).
How do you pronounce it?
/poneɾse del lado de/
Did you know?
- While ponerse del lado de is a common way to express support, Spanish uses the verb respaldar for more formal contexts, which literally means 'to back' or 'to put a shield behind'.
- The reflexive verb ponerse reveals that Spanish speakers conceptualize siding with someone as a physical act of moving oneself into a new position.
- The word lado is a direct relative of the English word 'lateral', both descending from the Latin 'latus'.
Examples in context
- En esta cuestión tan importante, el gobierno apoya completamente la iniciativa.In this important matter, the government fully sides with the initiative.
- Los miembros del consejo respaldan al nuevo director ejecutivo.The council members side with the new CEO.
- Yo estoy a favor de que se realicen cambios en la política educativa.I side with making changes in education policy.
- Estoy del lado de mis amigos en este debate.I'm siding with my friends in this debate.
- Ella se puso del lado de su hermano durante la discusión.She sided with her brother during the argument.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, del, lado, CC BY-SA 4.0.
