"¿Por qué?" and "¿Para qué?"
I am trying to explain the difference between these two to my students, but they don't seem to get it. I understand and know when to use it, but it's a bit difficult to get them to understand.... All help will be appreciated...
5 Answers
¿Para qué alguien diseñó el botón Search en la sección Answers?
¿Por qué no buscan con el botón Search antes de hacer una pregunta?
I've always thought of it more or less like this: "¿para qué?" refers to the end for which an action is taken and "¿por qué?" refers to the trigger or impetus. Though, as it sounds like you know, you can often use "¿por qué?" when you could also use "¿para qué?"
I always think of "para que" like "so that"... "Siempre lavo las verduras después de comprarlas para que estén limpias." and porque I imagine as "because"... "Siempre lavo las verduras despues de comprarlas porque están sucias." These are not the best examples but that is how I remember the difference. 
Yes. ¿Por qué quieres ir? and ¿Para qué quieres ir? Quiero ir porque me dijeron que va a ser bien Quiero ir para que pueda divertirme How's that for an example??
Yeah I used that explanation and they still don't get it.... but thanks anyway. It's appreciated..
