Similarities and differences between three French quasi-synonymous verbs: ‘arriver’, ‘parvenir’, ‘atteindre’

The French verbs arriver, parvenir, atteindre (“to arrive/ attain/ reach”) are seen as quasi-synonyms in many of their uses. We propose several hypotheses to explain the differences. Corpus analysis reveals functional properties such as force, resistance and intentionality. These properties allow us to understand the various extensions in meaning of these verbs and play a crucial role in explaining the constraints on construction.