Spanish Prepositions ‘por’ and ‘para’

The use of ‘por’ and ‘para’, both meaning ‘for’ or ‘by’, can be a bit confusing at first.

The difference is that;

• ‘por’ looks back to the origins of, or the root causes of  the circumstances;
• ‘para’ looks forward to the result, aim or destination of the  the circumstances.

Spanish ‘Por’ is used to express, or used with;

• Cause, reason, motive (usually to say why something has happened),

  lo hizo por amor = I did it for love.

  vamos a brindar por el éxito del disco = lets toast to the success of the C.|D.

  lo han despedido del trabajo por vago =  they have given him the sack for laziness.

• The place where the action takes place,

  pasean por la calle = they walk in the street.

  el ladrón debió de entrar por la ventana = the burglar must have entered by the window.

  por aquí no hay salida = there is no exit here.

  ¿te gusta pasear por el campo? =  do you like to walk in the countyside?

• The means,

  lo enviaron por avión =  they send it by aeroplane.

• The agent of the passive voice,

  la llave fue encontrada por el portero = the key was found by the doorman.

• Substitution, equivalence,

  aquí comes por mi ocho euros = here you can eat for eight euros.

• Distribution, proportion,

  cinco por ciento = five per cent.

• Multiplication and measurements,

  cinco por dos son diez.

• “In search of” with a verbs of movement (‘ir’, to go, ‘venir’, to come, etc),

  voy por pan = I go for bread.

• With price, (precio);

  puedo comprar tres camisas por 10 euros = I can buy three shirts for 10 euros.

Spanish ‘Para’ is used to express, or used with;

• Finality, destiny (often in the future),

  es para tu padre = it is for your father,

  compra pescado para la cena =  he is buying fish for the evening meal.

  este trasto no sirve para nada, eatá estropeado -  this piece of junk is useless, it’s broken.

  para ser ingeniero hay que estudiar mucho = to be an engineer you have to study a lot.

• Direction of movement, (i.e. towards),

  salen para Valencia = the leave for Valencia.

  ya que vas al la cocina, llévate esto para allá = as you are going to the kitchen, take this there.

• Deadlines,

  lo quiro para mañana = I want it for tomorrow.

• Comparison,

  para saber hay que estudiar = to know you have to study.

• Convenience,

  no es bueno para los pies =  it’s not good for the feet.

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