Colocarse - a verb rich in meaning
Once in a discussion here I put "se coloca" to mean "is standing". Upon researching the verb in the dictionary section, I've found that I probably should have put "se coloca (de or a?) pie". This pronomial use seems to have a variety of connotations: standing, sitting, being employed as, getting drunk or stoned! Please native speakers, give some everyday examples of how this verb is used!
3 Answers
Mmm, I think I need more context, in the first one, I would say: Se pone de pie, that's how we say it, the other one could be: Toma asiento, in the part of "employed as" maybe it's used like you said: Él se colocó en un buen puesto, or (Él) está colocado en un buen puesto., in the other ones I use again "poner": Él se puso borracho, and Se drogó. I hope to have helped you.
Colocar for me is something placed deliberately - and Dakie has demonstrated that with his examples. I find Spanish verbs to be very precise - more precise I think than English = with English you often have to have combo verbs whereas in Spanish you can use one!
From Dakie's wonderful examples, maybe not so rich in meaning. However, if one looks at the dictionary under colocar there is a lot there! Of course I realize that we don't learn a language out of a dictionary, but such a variety of meanings does cause one to wonder where all these meaning came from. If this is worth pursuing further, the members of the forum will decide. ¡Hasta luego y buen aprendizaje a todos!
