I need help with Por vs Para
Can someone give me a quick, easy explanation of Por vs Para? I know a lot of the rules but is there a general rule or something
-chainlinegirls
5 Answers
My friend,
Para came from two latin prepositions "pro" which has the basic meaning of forward and "ad" which means towards ... now these two distinct latin prepositions amalgamated to form the Spanish para which carries the combined meaning of both the parent prepositions (from latin) ... so if you look at the meanings of the two latin prepositions 'para' originated from, it will give you a little insight on the usage of para ... almost all of its various uses have one thing in common (a final goal, or a destination ) ...
For example .. él estudia para abogado (goal of becoming an advocate)...... Este regalo es para mi padre ( my father is the destination for the gift)..... Esta es una copa para vino ( the final purpose of the cup is to serve vine).... Voy a cantar para ti ( you (ti) is the purpose or the destination for whom the action is being done, or the objective/intended recipient of my action) .. .....
And there are some more uses ...
I am very tired today .. i need to get some sleep now .. we will discuss the rest tomorrow ..
If you find any typo errors please forgive me for that as I am typing with closed eyes (sleepy) on my little touch screen ...
Regards,
I'm not completely clear n these either but.....
Por is used.... FOR, through....They traveled through Athens. Viajaron por Athens traveling, expressions of time, the service lasts for three hours, El culto durar por tres horas. motivation/reason for doing something, Because OF.....Because of her childhood she has compassion for abused children. Por su...... por is also used for exchanges.... I will give you my yogurt for your apple.
Para is used for...
in order to.....I closed the door in order to warm the house. Cerro la puerta para calentar la casa.
destinations...(I'm leave for Florida day after tomorrow)...Salgo para Florida pasado mañana.
when you have a one-way exchange, such as this is for (para) my friend
I know this is not very clear but now when I'm trying to differentiate and....he needs an aspirin for his headache (because of.... I know it's por) most the time I have to really stop and think but now some things are coming a little quicker. I know there are probably better ways to describe these and maybe someone has a cute little acronym we could use, any kind of mnemonic would be appreciated!!! ;0) Hope t helps a little
A basic explanation: enter link description here
I think that we encounter a major pitfall in our learning endeavors when our understanding is rooted too heavily in overly precise translations and not heavily enough on overall meaning and structure. The por/para distinction is a prime example of the type of snare we set up when we focus too heavily on translation to learn a language. To develop a sense of ease with the language, we must instead focus our attention on the underlying ideas being presented by a given phrase while, at the same time, remaining cognizant of the forms and patterns being presented. It is through repetition of these forms and patterns that we become familiar with usage and not—I repeat, NOT—through the over reliance on literal translations.
Much of the confusion that these words entail often arises out of the typical manner in which they are first presented. Namely, it is not long after we first encounter these respective words that we are taught to equate them with the English word "for." When one considers that the Diccionario de la lengua española (DRAE) lists 30 distinct usages for por and 16 for para (a combined total of 46), it's no wonder that such an oversimplification might cause some confusion. For comparison's sake, consider that in any given English dictionary, (not including phrasal usages) it would not be unusual to find 20 or 30 distinct definitions for the English word "for."
One of the most beneficial steps we can take towards improving our ability to understand and utilize a language comes when we stop trying to superimpose our own language on the one we are trying to learn and start paying more attention to the repetition of patterns inherent to our target language. The easiest way to do this is to spend more time listening and reading, actively, with a keen eye and ear, and with a redirected focus towards understanding the underlying ideas being presented and recognizing the various syntactic structures and arrangements that we encounter. On the other hand, arguably the easiest way to stymie such fluidity occurs when we focus too heavily on a learning style that emphasizes the translation of ideas from English to Spanish and vice versa.
That being said, here is a reference that you might find of use: Gramática intensiva Las preposiciones “por” y “para”
No. Lot's of rules. Lots of practice. Get a feel for it. After that you stand a chance of being right 25% of the time. Sorry about this but there is no quick fix.
