Para y Por Posted by Magda on Jul 12, 2012 in Learning, Spanish Grammar, Spanish Vocabulary
As we know, simple rules for a native speaker can be quite confusing when we are learning a foreign language. Some days ago I read somebody asking the difference between these two Spanish prepositions Por and Para. As you know, both words mean for in English, so the best way to differentiate between them is to know the specific ways in which they should be used.
The preposition por has the following meanings:
- Motion/place: Caminan por las calles. (They walk through the streets.)
- Means/manner: Lo envío por correo aéreo. (I’m sending it by air-mail.)
- In exchange for/substitution: Lo dejó por otro. (She left him for somebody else.)
- Duration of an action: Viajaré por tres días. (I´ll be traveling for three days.)
- Indefinite period of time: Duerme por la tarde. (He sleeps in the afternoon.)
- Per: Me pagan por día. (They pay me per day.)
- To explain the reason or cause of an action: Tuvimos que cerrar la ventana por los mosquitos (We had to shut the windows because of the mosquitos)
The preposition para can be used to express:
- Destination/place: Salimos para Madrid. (We are leaving for Madrid.)
- Destination/person: Esto es para tí. (This is for you.)
- A future time limit: Es para mañana. (It’s for tomorrow.)
- Purpose/goal: Nado para divertirme. (I swim to have fun.)
- Use/function: Es un cepillo para el pelo. (It’s a hair brush.)
- Comparisons: Para su edad, lee bien. (For her age, she reads well.)
- Opinion: Para mí es demasiado crudo. (For me it’s too rare.)
It will be helpful to memorize model sentences, and some idiomatic expressions such as:
¡Por Dios! Oh, my God! (For God’s sake!)
¡por fin! at last!
por lo menos at least
dos veces por semana two times per week
por casualidad by chance
¿por qué? why? for what reason?
por separado separately
por si acaso, por si las moscas just in case
por su cuenta on one’s own
para siempre forever
para variar just for a change
ser tal para cual to be two of a kind
estar para to be about to
para entonces by that time
¿para qué sirve? what is it good for?
para un fin for one purpose
para variar for a change
Obviously, we can have some more examples I have forgotten, maybe you can think about them and write them in the comments. And now, can you translate these sentences into Spanish?
1. We went through the forest.
2. I bought a table for the living room.
3. The tennis match was cancelled due to the rain.
4. He looked out of the window.
5. For what reason do you study Spanish?
6. What do you want it for?
If you are really interested in learning Spanish, here you will find some more resources!
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About the Author: Magda
Hi all! I’m Magda, a Spanish native speaker writing the culture posts in the Transparent Language Spanish blog. I have a Bachelor’s in English Philology and a Master’s in Linguistics and Literature from the University of Granada, in Spain. I have also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, and then worked as an English teacher in several schools and academies for several years. Last year was my first at university level. In addition, I work as a private tutor, teaching English and Spanish as a foreign language to students and adults. In my free time, I’m an avid reader and writer, editing and collaborating in several literary blogs. I have published my first poetry book recently. And last but not least, I love photography!
Comments:
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Benjamin:
Gracias por el regalo. (Thank you for the gift.)
samantha:
I have a question about POR and PARA.
How do you say that you are working “for” someone, as in, they are the owner/manager. For example, if my dad has his own business and I say “I work for my dad.”
And then how to do you say you are working “for” someone, as in, a substitute because they are ill. For example, “Tonight I am working for Ana, who is ill.”
Magda:
@samantha In the first example we would say “Trabajo para mi padre”, that implies he´s your boss. In the second one I would say “esta noche sustituyo a Ana, que está enferma.” We could also say “trabajo por/en lugar de Ana”.