When to use para, when not to!
OK, forget the PARA versu POR problem, that is NOT what I am talking about! 
I cannot find anywhere a rule, or rules, or trick, or understanding, or purpose on how to know when to use PARA and when NOT to use it.
For example,
1) Requiere de mucho tiempo practicar deportes. It requires much time to practice sports.
2) Raras veces tengo tiempo para jugar al golf. Rarely do I have time to play golf.
Why does sentence 1 not need a para, as in /tiempo para practicar/? Why does sentence 2 need a para, as in /tiempo jugar/?
Is it the leading verb? Is it the person? Is it golf versus sports? I cannot find anything that explains this type of problem with PARA.
If you really understand this I would really appreciate a simple explanation of the rule to facilitate knowing the difference between when to use PARA and when NOT to as in /Como para vivir/ and /Como vivir/ etc.
Thanks,
-Kirk
8 Answers
Ok, but first I need to clarify something about the first sentence:
- Requiere de mucho tiempo practicar deportes. = He/she requires much time to practice sports.
- Requiere mucho tiempo practicar deportes. = It requires much time to practice sports.
I will be focusing on the second one, which is the one matching your English sentence.
1) "Practicar deportes" is the subject, and "mucho tiempo" is the direct object. Rearranging the sentence you could get:
- Practicar deportes require mucho tiempo. (? Practicing sports requires much time.)
- Practicar deportes lo requiere. (? Practicing sports requires it.)
The subject of a sentence cannot be introduced by a preposition, so forget about "para" here. Similar sentences:
- Resulta muy cansado hablar en ruso todo el tiempo.
- Aburre mucho limpiar la casa.
- Me parece muy difícil pronunciar este idioma.
2) "Raras veces" is an adverbial temporal phrase, and "tiempo para jugar al golf" is the direct object.
- Raras veces tengo tiempo para jugar al golf. (? Rarely do I have time to play golf.)
- Raras veces lo tengo. (? Rarely do I have it.)
The phrase "jugar al golf" is syntactically a nominal clause which is embedded within "tiempo para jugar al golf". In Spanish these nouns (or nominal clauses) have to be linked with prepositions, and although "de" is the most common one, others like "para" can be used instead if their meaning is compatible. You could have also said "Raras veces tengo tiempo de jugar al golf". If you wish, you could regard "para jugar al golf" as an adjectival phrase, depending on the grammatical analysis. Similar sentences:
- Estoy cansado de hablar en español.
- Me parece un idioma muy difícil de pronunciar.
- Aún quedan muchas cosas por hacer.
- Tengo muchas cartas para enviar.
I hope it helps.
Unfortunately, when to use para is just the beginning of the Spanish preposition minefield. There are several sites with verb + preposition lists, all of which say there are almost no rules and you have to just memorize what goes with what. Then there are the other uses of prepositions and preposition phrases. My agony has given me great sympathy for those learning English with its much larger set of prepositions, and I wish that I could offer you help instead of only sympathy.
1) Requiere de mucho tiempo practicar deportes. It requires much time to practice sports.
2) Raras veces tengo tiempo para jugar al golf. Rarely do I have time to play golf.
Why does sentence 1 not need a para, as in /tiempo para practicar/? Why does sentence 2 need a para, as in /tiempo jugar/?
The first sentence is wrong. It should be "Practicar deportes requiere mucho tiempo".
The simple answer to your question is simple: those two sentences are different! Instead of wondering about how Spanish works, maybe you should be looking at your own language first, because in English, "to" has many meanings
In the first sentence, "to" simply goes with the verb. You are saying that "practising sports" or "to practice sports" is a thing that requires much time. That is the subject of the sentence, and in Spanish, the subject NEVER takes a preposition.. Notice that the "to" is only required with the infinitive ("practice") but not with the gerund ("practising".) Notice also that you can replace "time" without affecting the structure: "It requires much effort to practice sports".
In the second sentence, "to" is a completely different one, because it links "time" and "play". You can't use here a gerund, like "I have time playing golf"(???), unless you use a preposition as a link. Well, this link in Spanish is done with "para", which is the preposition that indicates the purpose of using that time. "Rarely do I have effort to play golf" wouldn't make sense, because you have split the "time to play golf" phrase, unlike in example 1, because "to play golf" is not the subject of the sentence.
So, they are two completely different sentences from the point of view of their construction, so why should they be translated using the same construction in any other language? If they could, it would be a coincidence... or a language very similar to English.
The moral of the story is: there is a logic in the way Spanish constructions are made, but you can't use English to explain Spanish because the two languages are different, and especially not when there is an English word with multiple meanings and uses, such as "to", because there is a high probability that there isn't such a thing in any other language. Solution? Forget about using English if you want to learn Spanish!
Paralee our online teacher gives some guidelines as to when to use por v para in her lesson 3:6 You are likely to learn this with repeated practice and like Ser v Estar it will become easier and hopefully second nature(intuitive) to you with practice and time. However, you cannot usually hope to master it in five minutes or five months
You could try watching Paralees lesson for some basic guidlines and then just learn by experience with mistakes like everyone else.
You could also go the grammer section of the SpanishDict website for more guidance on how to use por v para I have given you a link here link text
I hope this helps 
I seem to recall a rule about not being able to use a verb infinitive after a noun without having a preposition of some sort between them, but it is fuzzy in my mind, so don't take it to heart.
You remember it perfectly. And since in the first construction, the infinitive forms a subject, and not a phrase that modifies another phrase (like in the 2nd sentence), it does not even accept prepositions.
As I said, two different constructions.
In sentence one practicar deportes is the subject of the sentence.
Requiere de mucho tiempo practicar deportes.
Practicar deportes requiere de mucho tiempo.
Placing para at the beginning of the sentence is now awkward.
Raras veces tengo tiempo para jugar al golf.
Here para forms a adjectival, prepositional phrase modifying the noun tiempo.
Not sure that answers your questions, but I wanted to point out that you are comparing apples and oranges, not apples and apples.
delete-the cavalry arrived in the nick of time
I was hoping that you would get an answer from a native. I was hoping to hear that:
Necesito dinero nadar was incorrect in Spanish. Just because it translates literally into a meaningful English sentence does not mean that it is an acceptable construction in Spanish.
Likewise with ...mucho tiempo jugar al golf. I seem to recall a rule about not being able to use a verb infinitive after a noun without having a preposition of some sort between them, but it is fuzzy in my mind, so don't take it to heart.
I would use para in both sentences as it is used to point to an end result. (in order to)
However, I can't quote you a rule. If no native answers, your question, I would PM Lazarus or Heidita and ask them if they would read your thread. I think it is a very interesting question, and would like to understand the reasoning of why para should be used if it is, indeed, necessary in your example sentence.
OK, this answer is interesting and informed, but I am not a grammar expert and am not sure how this would map to other sentences. Stating that PARA would be awkward for the first sentence doesn't really help me much because I cannot rely on what sounds awkward in Spanish since it is only words, not a native language for me.
Here para forms a adjectival, prepositional phrase modifying the noun tiempo.
Please, some examples to help me understand this hint at a grammar rule of some sort.
For example, are you saying that PARA is used when it forms an "adjectival prepositional phrase" but if it does not then it isn't used, that is, at least when it is the subject?
For a simple introductory example...
I need money to swim.
Necesito dinero para nadar o Necesito dinero nadar?
Could you explain this with the above rule?
Any other examples that show a pattern of grammar with and without PARA (especially with an infinitive, i.e. para nadar, para hablar, etc.) would be very helpful.
Thanks,
-Kirk
