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SPANISH VERB

meter la pata

to put your foot in it

  • Regular -er verb
  • Gerund: metiendo la pata
  • Past participle: metido la pata

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I put your foot in it
  2. tú you put your foot in it
  3. usted, él, ella he/she puts your foot in it
  4. nosotros we put your foot in it
  5. vosotros Spain you all put your foot in it
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they put your foot in it

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I put your foot in it
  2. tú you put your foot in it
  3. usted, él, ella he/she put your foot in it
  4. nosotros we put your foot in it
  5. vosotros Spain you all put your foot in it
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they put your foot in it

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to put your foot in it
  2. tú you used to put your foot in it
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to put your foot in it
  4. nosotros we used to put your foot in it
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to put your foot in it
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to put your foot in it

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will put your foot in it
  2. tú you will put your foot in it
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will put your foot in it
  4. nosotros we will put your foot in it
  5. vosotros Spain you all will put your foot in it
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will put your foot in it

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would put your foot in it
  2. tú you would put your foot in it
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would put your foot in it
  4. nosotros we would put your foot in it
  5. vosotros Spain you all would put your foot in it
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would put your foot in it

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I put your foot in it
  2. tú (that) you put your foot in it
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she put your foot in it
  4. nosotros (that) we put your foot in it
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all put your foot in it
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they put your foot in it

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I put your foot in it
  2. tú (if) you put your foot in it
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she put your foot in it
  4. nosotros (if) we put your foot in it
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all put your foot in it
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they put your foot in it

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú put your foot in it!
  2. usted put your foot in it! (formal)
  3. nosotros put your foot in it! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain put your foot in it! (all of you)
  5. ustedes put your foot in it! (all of you)

How to use meter la pata

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Cada vez que abro la boca, meto la pata.

    Every time I open my mouth, I put my foot in it.

  2. Past

    Metí la pata al preguntarle por su exmarido.

    I put my foot in it asking her about her ex-husband.

  3. Imperfect

    Al principio metía la pata con el vosotros y el ustedes.

    At first I kept slipping up with vosotros and ustedes.

  4. Future

    No digas nada en la cena y no meterás la pata.

    Say nothing at dinner and you won't put your foot in it.

  5. Conditional

    Yo en tu lugar metería la pata diez veces.

    In your place I'd put my foot in it ten times.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Dame con el pie antes de que meta la pata.

    Nudge me with your foot before I put mine in it.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Me daba miedo que Curro metiera la pata con la suegra.

    I was afraid Curro would put his foot in it with the mother-in-law.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Mete la pata tranquilo, aquí nadie se ofende!

    Go ahead and put your foot in it, nobody takes offence here!

Good to know

  • "Meter la pata hasta el fondo" is to put your foot right in it. "Una metedura de pata" is the blunder itself.

Where you hear meter la pata

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Fluency Level 2

  • Cada vez que hablo, meto la pata. Every time I open my mouth, I put my foot in it.
  • El primer día no metí la pata. Ni una vez. On the first day I didn't put my foot in it. Not once.
  • Delante de tu tío voy a meter la pata, seguro. In front of your uncle I'm going to put my foot in it, for sure.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -er verb.