The verb 'became' in Spanish?
I've searched for this for so long and don't seem to find a common answer... If I want to say: 'Before' I became rich' for instance, which verb would I use? Some of the solutions I found on the internet were:
- Antes de que me hizo rica
- Antes de que me hice rica
- Antes de que me convert en rica
...but none of them seem right to me...
The context could be: Four years ago, before I became rich, my life was very peaceful.
Thanks in advance.
3 Answers
Warning: I'm just a learner of Spanish, and no expert.
There are 92 ways to say "become" in Spanish: llegar a ser, convertirse en, ponerse, hacerse, volverse....
In this case, I don't think you'd go too far wrong with convertirse en or hacerse, as your Web search revealed.
So, are you talking about a fact (Before I became rich, I was a nicer person) or a hypothetical (Before I became rich, I would choose to bum around the world and stay in youth hostels). May we have context, please?
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. Edit (a day later)
Are you familiar with the imperfecto de subjuntivo? I'm going to guess that you are not. It would be nice if your profile told me something about you.
Your three attempts use antes de que, and antes de que requires the subjunctive. Something like Hace cuatro años, antes de que me hiciera rica, mi vida era muy tranquila.
Another way to do this, without the subjunctive, is suggested by DonBigoteDeLaLancha. Hace cuatro años, antes de hacerme rico, mi vida era muy tranquila.
Examples from my dictionary may help you.
They became great friends. / Llegaron a ser grandes amigos.
She became a doctor. / Ella se hizo médica.
Those boys are becoming a nuisance. / Esos chicos se están haciendo muy molestos.
"Life was simpler before I became rich." "Era más sencilla la vida antes de hacerme rico."
That would be my best shot. More like Andy Griffith than J.P. Morgan. 
