Poser ou Mettre?

[Nittany07]

Both mean, "to put". When should I use poser, and when should I use mettre?

[wmdutton]

"Mettre" is the much more commonly used verb for "placing" or "putting" an object down on a table, for example. (Je mets mon assiette sur la table). "Poser" is not really ever used for this.

However, "Poser" is used in many of the same situations you would use that word in English. One "poses" a question, for example. "Je pose une question."

So, when you are presented with a sentence, and the sentence is "He puts the plate on the table" you would use "mettre" vs. a sentence where, in the rare case that we say something in English like "He posed his picture up on the wall" or even "He posed for a picture" then the French "poser" is more likely to be used. ("Il a posé sa photo sur la mur." 'Il pose pour une photo.")

I hope this helps.

[KeZhiXin1987]

This was very helpful, thanks! I just had a sentence on Duolingo that was "elle pose le portefeuille" which they translated as "she puts down the billfold". Would it make more sense to say "elle met le portefeuille"? Merci!

[boulou333]

Bonjour j'ai un probleme. j'apprends l'espagnol et l'anglais mais maintenant le site est en russe et j'apprends le Français et je voudrais que la langue soit en Français et que je revienne sur mes 2 langues.Pouvez-vous m'aider?Merci

[chriswalli8]

Wow!!

[SindyDeLaCruz]

it's my understanding that
1. "mettre dans" = "to put into"
and
2. "poser sur" ="to put on"