Objetivos
- Understand the difference between por and para and select the appropriate preposition for the context
- Use prepositional pronouns with por and para
“Por” and “Para” are two little words that cause more trouble for learners of Spanish than the length of the words would seem to predict. This is because prepositions in general are very idiomatic—that is to say that each language uses prepositions differently, and there’s not always a clear rule for predicting which one to use. For example, in the case of “por” and “para”, they can both be translated into English as “for”, but they’re not interchangeable, and in other situations they’re translated with completely different prepositions, like “by”, “through”, and “in order to”.
Rather than a rule which would have a ridiculous number of exceptions, you’re better off remembering which situations call for which word:
Por
- Duration of time (for)
- e.g. Llamamos una ambulancia y solo esperamos por cinco minutos cuando llega. (We call an ambulance and only wait for five minutes before it comes.)
- Exchange (for, in place of, in exchange for)
- e.g. Ella tiene alergia a la penicilina, entonces la cambiamos por vancomycin. (She’s allergic to penicillin, so we exchanged it for vancomycin.)
- e.g. Por $50 más, puedes ver Netflix en tu habitación del hospital. (For $50 more, you can watch Netflix in your hospital room.)
- Motivation (for, for the sake of)
- e.g. Camino en vez de manejar un coche, por mi salud y por el medioambiente. (I walk instead of driving a car, for the sake of my health and the environment.)
- Mode of travel or communication (by, through)
- e.g. La mujer embarazada llega al hospital por taxi, no por ambulancia. (The pregnant woman comes to the hospital by taxi, not ambulance.)
- e.g. La mujer entra por la puerta de urgencias y va por ese pasillo directamente a la sala de partos. (The woman enters through the emergency room door, and goes along that hallway directly to the maternity ward.)
How is “para” being used here?
Para
- Deadlines (by, for)
- e.g. Voy a llamar la farmacia y van a tener tus pastillas para las tres de la tarde. (I’ll call the pharmacy, and they will have your pills by three p.m.)
- Recipient, beneficiary (for)
- e.g. La receta es para mi madre, que tiene hipertensión. (The prescription is for my mom, who has high blood pressure.)
- Purpose, goal (in order to, to)
- e.g. Para tener buena salud, necesitas comer bien y hacer ejercicio regularmente. (To have good health, you need to eat well and exercise regularly.)
- Destination of travel (for, to)
- e.g. La ambulancia sale para la escena del accidente un minuto después de la llamada a 911. (The ambulance leaves for the scene of the accident one minute after the call to 911.)
Expresiones idiomáticas
- Por ahora (for now, for the time being)
- Eso es suficiente por ahora. (That’s enough for now.)
- Por completo (completely)
- Olvidé por completo que las estaciones en la Argentina están al revés de las estaciones en el Hemisferio Norte, y no empaqué ropa abrigada para julio. (I completely forgot that the seasons in Argentina are the opposite of the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere, and I didn’t pack warm clothes for July.)
- Por ejemplo (for example)
- Muchas palabras tienen la misma traducción al inglés sin tener significados iguales, por ejemplo “por” y “para”. (Many words have the same translation into English without having the same meanings, for example “por” and “para”.)
- Por eso (That’s why)
- Tengo mucho trabajo por eso no puedo salir esta noche. (I have a lot of work, that’s why I can’t go out tonight.)
- Por favor (please)
- ¿Puede usted explicar ese anuncio público, por favor? No lo comprendo. (Could you please explain that public announcement? I don’t understand it.)
- Por fin (at last, finally)
- Después de quince horas de viaje, por fin llegamos a Buenos Aires. (After 15 hours of travel, we finally arrive in Buenos Aires.)
- Por lo menos (at least)
- Necesitas dejar por lo menos dos horas extras para pasar por la seguridad del aeropuerto. (You need to leave at least two extra hours to pass through airport security.)
- Por si acaso (just in case)
- Traigo comida en mi mochila, por si acaso tengo hambre en el viaje. (I carry food in my backpack, in case I get hungry on the way.)
- Por supuesto (of course)
- Por supuesto puedo ayudarte con tu tarea. (Of course I can help you with your homework.)
- Para empezar (to begin with, for starters)
- ¿Quieres viajar al extranjero? Para empezar, necesitas un pasaporte. (You want to travel overseas? To begin with, you need a passport.)
- Para nada (not at all)
- No me gusta viajar en barcos para nada. (I don’t like traveling on boats at all.)
- Estar para (+ infinitive) (to be about to, to be ready to)
- El avión está para salir (The plane is about to depart).
Attributions