RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Comer, Marie A1 Enghels, Renata YR 2016 T1 La polisemia de los verbos de colocación: Descripción sincrónica y evolución diacrónica de los cuasi-sinónimos poner / meter y poser / mettre JF Revue Romane. Langue et littérature. International Journal of Romance Languages and Literatures VO 51 IS 1 SP 70 OP 94 DO https://doi.org/10.1075/rro.51.1.03com PB John Benjamins SN 0035-3906, AB This article compares the syntax and semantics of the locative verbs poner and meter in Spanish with their French cognates poser and mettre. In some contexts these lexemes are clearly interchangeable, whereas in others they are not. The purpose of this study is double. First, based on a large contemporary corpus for Spanish and French, it describes the intricate polysemy of the verbs. It shows that in modern Spanish mainly poner presents more grammaticalized uses — that is as a semi-copulative or causative verb. In contrast, its near-equivalent meter behaves more frequently like a true locative verb. In French, the situation is the other way around: mettre seems to display more grammaticalized uses, mainly as inchoative auxiliary verb, than poser does. The second part of the analysis provides an explanation for this different behavior and maps out the diachronic semantic development of the verbs, from the 13th century up to now., UL https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/rro.51.1.03com