The Interplay of Synonymy and Polysemy

133 | 
(212) … 
TIRE
para allá
. Usted: 
TIRE
para acá
. 
(CdE:19-F, Hijo de ladrón) 
‘P
ULL
that way
. You: 
PULL
this way
.’
In (211), there are two affected elements. The phrase 
de las riendas 
‘from the reins’ is 
classified as a 
MOVANT
. It is the object that is pulled. But the sentence also mentions the 
entity that is affected by the pulling. In a way, the horse is being pulled, by using a part of it, 
namely the reins. In (212) there are two continuous sentences that lack an overt 
MOVANT
. 
This example is the only case where there is a 
DIRECTIONAL
. That is, of the 15 sentences that 
mean ‘to pull’ only one (212) contains a phrase expressing the trajectory of motion. 
The sentences in (211-212) are the only ones of their kind in the corpus. Still I believe 
that they provide an important insight into the behavior of 
echar
. There are three ways that 
the ‘pulling’ sentences differ from other sentences in the corpus: 1) the element that is 
moving is introduced by the preposition 
de 
‘from/of’; 2) it is possible to include two elements 
that are affected, the whole individual that is (indirectly) pulled and the specific element or 
part that is pulled; and 3) there is only one case of a 
DIRECTIONAL
and it occurs in a sentences 
that does not contain a 
MOVANT
. I believe these three features have a single explanation. 
First, let us compare the actions associated with 
tirar 
‘throwing’ and 
tirar 
‘pulling’. In 
the first case, there is a propelling of an object away from the 
INITIATOR
. In ‘pulling’, the 
INITIATOR
is using force to bring an object towards herself, or even pulling along behind 
herself as she moves (VOX). I believe that there is a semantic connection between both 
meanings. Specifically, the beginning of a prototypical throwing event matches a pulling 
event. This is illustrated in the figure 22(a and b).
The meaning of pulling is derived from the concept of throwing. The appearance of 
the preposition 
de 
‘from/of’ is crucial. It is the prepositional phrase that causes the meaning 
of ‘throwing’ to be extended to derive the meaning of ‘pulling’. The preposition signals the 
source or beginning of motion. The preposition serves to focus the central meaning of the 
verb (‘to throw’) to the initial part of motion. In a sense, ‘throwing’ and ‘pulling’ are related 
by metonymy. Where ‘throwing’ involves a full action (figure 22a along with the entire 
follow-through), the phrase 
tirar de 
‘throw from’ limits the action to the initial portion, 
shown in figure 22b. The initial portion of a throwing event (figure 22a) coincides with a 
pulling event (figure 22b).

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