Another "por" vs "para" question - "¿Harías algo por/para mí?"

Question

There are plenty of por/para questions already, but I was wanting to know if using "por" or "para" can change the verb meaning, as in the following: Does "¿Harías algo por mí?" = "Would you do something for me?" while "¿Harías algo para mí?" = "Would you make something for me?" In English the first sentence regards something being done on my behalf, hence "por" seems appropriate, while the second sentence regards me being the recipient of something, hence "para" seems right. Is this correct, or in Spanish would "por" be used in both circumstances?

Good question. - Jubilado, Jan 18, 2015

Answer 1

Gracias Tosh. Can it change the English verb too? ie. Does "¿Puedes hacer algo por mí?"="Can you do something for me?" while "¿Puedes hacer algo para mí?"="Can you make something for me?"

Por and Para do not change the meaning of the verb. Based on the context, it would have the same affect as my "comprar" example.

It's your mom's birthday and you told her you would make her a cake. You run out of time, so you ask your sister, "¿Puedes hacer el pastel por mí?".

You get home and you are tired and hungry, but don't feel like cooking. You ask somebody in the house, "¿Puedes hacer la cena para mí?".

I would probably use "preparar la cena", but I just wanted to explain with the example you gave.

I shouldn't have said *change* the verb. What I meant is we would ask someone to do something for us (on behalf of / por), but make something for us (as we will receive it / para). Hence does por/para effectively determine do/make in my original example? - jellonz, Jan 19, 2015

No... the context changes it. Someone can make something for you (on your behalf) or make something actually for you... or they can do something for you (on your behalf) or do something actually for you. - Tosh, Jan 19, 2015

Gracias. That is what I was getting at. The *likely* contexts are someone doing something on your behalf, or making something for you to receive. But as you correctly point out, this would not *necessarily* be the case. - jellonz, Jan 19, 2015

Answer 2

Yes, this does change the meaning.

Mañana es el cumpleaños de mamá. ¿Puedes comprar un regalo por mí? - Can you buy a gift on my behalf?

Mañana es mi cumpleaños. ¿Puedes comprar un regalo para mí? - Can you buy a gift for me?

Buena respuesta. - Jubilado, Jan 18, 2015

Gracias Tosh. Can it change the English verb too? ie. Does "¿Puedes hacer algo *por* mí?"="Can you *do* something for me?" while "¿Puedes hacer algo *para* mí?"="Can you *make* something for me?" - jellonz, Jan 19, 2015

no jellonz - chileno, Jan 19, 2015

Ok. Now I'm confused. So "por" *would* be used in both my original examples? - jellonz, Jan 19, 2015