'estar por' and 'estar para'

Question

How are these used, and what are the differences between Spain and America?

I have: estar por =to be in favour of
estar para =to be about to do something/about to happen

-this doesn't always seem to be the case...

Answer 1

Yes, I spoke to some Colombians and an Ecuadorian about this. They favoured 'está por llover' for it's about to rain for example, but were fairly ambivalent: 'está para llover' was OK one girl thought made the statement more definitive.

From what I've read elsewhere 'está por llover' would not be accepted in Spain. (')

Answer 2

Both can be used to mean "about to do," and estar para can also mean "to be in the mood for." "No estoy para chistes" = "I'm not in the mood for jokes. Estar por can also mean "remain to be done." And the "in favor of" meaning of estar por can also translate to "to be inclined to do" or "to have a mind to do."