Spanish Prepositions ‘por’ and ‘para’
August 20th, 2008 by admin
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.