Por vs. Para Siempre

Question

Just want to check my understanding of the correction.

DRAE:

A. para siempre. loc. adv. Por todo tiempo o por tiempo indefinido. Me voy para siempre

B. por siempre. loc. adv. Perpetuamente o por tiempo sin fin. Por siempre sea alabado y bendito

I received a correction today:

para durar por para siempre

I think when I wrote it I was thinking the pyramids would be protecting the pharaohs’ bodies day in and day out forever, but when I associated it with durar- I got into a verb that focused on the endpoint, making para the only option.

Now I wonder if I could write:

Los faraones querían proteger sus cuerpos por siempre.

Since that would be something ongoing every day.

And I would like to check my understanding of this difference:

Te amaré por siempre- I will love you each day, always (focus on the love continuously daily)

Te amaré para siempre- I will love you until the end of time (focus on the (lack of an) end)

Or is “por siempre” simply too literary and uncommon, and I should use para siempre, para siempre.

Answer 1

I would most definitely use "por siempre"

Ves, bosque, gekko se las da de hispano...ni hablar, otro extranjero

So would you never use por siempre, or is just that I am not finding the right contexts. - bosquederobl

We only use this in a kind of poetic way.

Te amaré por siempre jamás.

In any case, remember that por is used differently in Spain.

Thanks, keep in mind I am multicultural, despite my initial plan of learning Mexican Spanish. :) - bosquederoble, Sep 16, 2017

My wife's uncle spends a few months in the Canaries every year. If it wasn't so far we might consider it. But Oregon Spanish mostly comes from Mexico. :) - bosquederoble, Sep 16, 2017

Oye, oye: you soy hispanohablante, sí, ¡pero NO español! - Gekkosan, Sep 17, 2017

Answer 2

I made this correction, you should mention me, this could be regional

In any case.

Para mantener intactas sus almas, los faraones tuvieron que proteger sus cuerpos después de morir. Por eso crearon grandes estructuras construidas para durar por/ para siempre.

Yes, for me por is wrong.

Yes, I think I understand how durar would never match por. :) - bosquederoble, Sep 15, 2017

Nevertheless, lots of people do use "durar por siempre". Sorry. - Gekkosan, Sep 17, 2017

Answer 3

I think you have one of the answers . Por siempre sounds more literary to me.
Te amaré para siempre Is more common.

The emphatic expression por siempre jamás , however wouldn't take para.

I would not correct por siempre but personally , I wouldn't have used it.

Thanks, Polenta. :) - bosquederoble, Sep 16, 2017

Welcome - Polenta, Sep 16, 2017

Answer 4

Te amaré por siempre- I will love you each day, always (focus on the love continuously daily) Te amaré para siempre- I will love you until the end of time (focus on the (lack of an) end)

Yeah... I would say that I agree with this explanation. Makes sense to me, and matches how I use those terms.

Thanks, I always hope my thoughts work somewhere, even when I don't know where. :) - bosquederoble, Sep 15, 2017

jejeje, let's ask where gekko lives...he is so influenced by English speaking natives...his Spanish is getting weirder and weirder :P - 006595c6, Sep 15, 2017

I know where Gekkosan lives, and where his Spanish is from, which is not quite where he lives. :) - bosquederoble, Sep 16, 2017

That's impressive. I don't know that myself. - Gekkosan, Sep 16, 2017

Hmmm. Maybe I should just say I have guesses that I think I know. :) - bosquederoble, Sep 16, 2017

But I do like to know what influences the Spanish I am being told, so I do pay some attention. :) - bosquederoble, Sep 16, 2017

For better or worse, I have been exposed to many regional variations. - Gekkosan, Sep 16, 2017

Answer 5

Te amaré por siempre-

If I heard this, I would think...oh , ¡extranjero!

Sounds completely off to me

So would you never use por siempre, or is just that I am not finding the right contexts. - bosquederoble, Sep 15, 2017

I would most definitely use "por siempre". - Gekkosan, Sep 15, 2017

Answer 6

Here's are three links from Tomímiso Italki & StackExchange regarding para and por siempre.

• Por siempre / para siempre
• ¿Cuál es la diferencia entre "Para siempre" y "Por siempre"?
• What is the difference between “por siempre” and “para siempre” to say “forever”?

In short, para siempre is common in everyday, conversational speech. While, por siempre is for literary and formal context.

Thanks I had seen the first. Another good link: https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/por-siempre-para-siempre.35098/ - bosquederoble, Sep 15, 2017

The wordreference link that you provided are responses mostly from the Americas. The three links I have above are replies from Spain. - NKM1974, Sep 15, 2017

Although my Spanish is very mixed, my goal is to be understood by Mexicans. :) - bosquederoble, Sep 15, 2017

You got that backward, Bosque: Mexicans will understand YOU if you speak standard Spanish. You, however, stand little chance of understanding Mexicans unless you spend a while studying their slang and accent! :-D - Gekkosan, Sep 16, 2017