Why Por instead of Para for this sentence...

Question

Hola,

Por que' en la oracio'n siguiente usamos por en vez de para?

"Daría cualquier cosa por trabajar con ustedes." "Mataría por trabajar con Prince".

Why use Por?

What would the sentences mean if we replace por with para?

Are there sentences similar to those that you use por instead of para?

Thank you so much.

Answer 1

Hola y bienvenida al foro, Tiffa!

One of the uses of por is to express the idea that one thing is given in exchange for another thing.

Check out this link for the other uses of por & para.

Answer 2

Well, if you follow the D R E E M S and P R O D D S explanations in the lessons on Por and Para I think that por here would fall under the 2nd E for Exchange.

I would give anything in exchange for working with you. Or you could look at is as por being "the motive for doing something" as in the motive for "killing". [the R in D R E E M S]

These "rules" are so flexible to me that they almost seem useless. You almost have to learn those rules by learning the specific situations where they are used.

For instance, para is often translated as "in oder to". Insert "in order to" into your sentences and you see that they still makes sense.