when do you use por versus para?

Question

I'm not quite sure yet about the por versus para. When is each used? Is one more common than the other?

Answer 1

It will take some time and practice to actually get the hang of para and por, but once you get it, it'll be as easy as pie (99% of the time ).

These are some really good links to help you: Basic and Detailed.

Answer 2

People try to answer this question with just one or two basic rules, but there's quite a few situations that come up. To the level of Spanish proficiency that I've reached, (maybe upper intermediate if you're trying to quantify it) it appears that certain areas are more important to have por and para correct and some situations aren't as crucial.

Here's an example: "un libro para mí" would mean "a book for me" while "un libro (escrito) por mí" would mean "a book (written) by me"

So, there are situations where it is very important to choose the right word.

Some instances to use "para" would be when you mean to say: "for someone" ("para alguien") or you need to say "in order to" or "for the purpose of"

And situations where you must say "por" would include: when you refer to time or time of day, example: "in the morning" is "por la mañana", or when you mean to say "via" or "through", example "we talk by telephone" is "hablamos por teléfono".

These are some of the instances where it seems the most important to use the right word. I know there's lots of other instances to discuss, and I still have a lot to learn on the subject. But I thought I'd offer what I've learned so far. Also the two previous answers sound correct to me.

Answer 3

not an easy one . having difficulty myself here.most of the time it's "para" . often "por" is a translation for "by" like in dos por dos = two by two but then there are expressions like "por la ventana " and " por la manaña " which have nothing to do with "for" . would like so some other answers to this question too.

Answer 4

The Spanish word por (translated as 'for' in English) is used when making a reference to a period of time, for example: "I have to go for an hour" would be: "Tengo que ir por una hora". The Spanish word para (also 'for' in English) is used for all other instances typically, for example: "I have to go for a visit" would be: "Tengo que ir para una visita".