para vs por?

Question

what is the difference between para and por and how do you know which to use when?

Answer 1

Lesson 3.6 Video of the Learn Spanish Units on this site is all on Por and Para and might be helpful to you.

Answer 2

For me this is one of the most difficult questions about Spanish--I bought a book that devotes an entire chapter to this. Here's a brief summary of what my book says:

Use para for:

Destination. e.g. Este jabón es para el baño (This soap is for the BR).

Purpose. e.g. Yo como para vivir (I eat to live).

Deadline. e.g. Necesito la ropa para el jueves (I need the clothes by Thur.)

Standard. e.g. Hace calor para enero (It's warm for January)

Use por for:

Duration. e.g. Él toma café por el día (He drinks coffee throughout the day).

Motivation. e.g. Él no trabaja hoy por estar enfermo (He is not working today because of his being sick).

Movement. e.g. Martin va al trabajo por autobús. (Martin goes to work on the bus).

Emotions. e.g. Tengo respecto por mis amigos (I have respect for my friends).

In addition there are hundreds of idiomatic expressions which you can probably find on SD.

Cheers

Answer 3

Please look in the reference article here for the difference between Para and Por

Reference Article