Para versus por
When do you use "para" and when do you use "por?" To me they seem interchangeable.
2 Answers
Definitely check out the link that Robertico provided.
But I do have a word of encouragement: "para" and "por" are a common source of confusion for non native Spanish speakers. In fact, they are a topic widely discussed even on the graduate level of study.
Just to gain some perspective, the word "por" can be translated into English by saying "along', "through", or "by". If a person grows up speaking English, it's no big deal. But to a native Spanish speaker, it can be very confusing. Would it be "I walked by the sidewalk?" "along the sidewalk?" or maybe even "through the sidewalk"?
Some of the expressions you may have to memorize, but the rest of it will come pretty easily with the basic guidelines in the link.
Poco a poco se anda lejos...Buena suerte!
