Language/Spanish/Grammar/Por-vs-Para

"POR" and "PARA" in Spanish: how not to confuse them:

In today's lesson, we are studying something that may seem difficult for many Spanish learners:

when to use "POR" or "PARA"?

Together, let's discover how to avoid confusing these two words and avoid many errors!

• "POR": it refers to the cause. A cause is the reason for an action producing a result. We can use the following English expression: "due to".
• "PARA": it is used to express purpose. The purpose is an object to be reached or a goal. We can use the following English expression: "in order to".

Unfortunately, there's bad news:

1. There are exceptions to this rule! Else, it would be a piece of cake! :)
2. The only way to master these exceptions is to learn them by heart and gradually.

As usual, do not expect to master the use of these two words by reading this lesson once.

I'm going to teach you to differentiate between these two words.

I suggest you to write down all the difficulties you encounter. It will enhance your progress and gradually quicken your memory.

Let's begin!

"POR"

The cause

• Es famoso por su canción

He is famous for his song

Pass through a space

"pasar por"

• Él pasó por aquí

He went through here

Time of the day

"Por la mañana, por la tarde, por la noche."

• Por la mañana suelo desayunar mucho.
• Suelo desayunar mucho, por la mañana.

In the morning, I usually eat a lot for breakfast

A feeling

• Me apasiono por el español.

I am passionate about Spanish language

• Tengo asco por el alemán.

I am disgusted by German language

Price

• Lo he comprado por diez euros.

I bought it for ten euros

Thanks for something

"Thanks for" will always be translated by "gracias por"

• Gracias por leer este artículo.

Thanks for reading this article

Verbs always followed by "por"

Examples:

• Me preocupo por tu salud

I am worried about your health

• Me intereso por tu historia.

I'm interested in your story

• Disculpa por el retraso

Sorry for being late

List

Spanish	English
afanarse por	to strive to
asustarse por	to get frightened about
cambiar por	to exchange for
comenzar por	to begin with
decidirse por	to decide on
desvelarse por	to be very concerned about
disculparse por	to apologize for
esforzarse por	to struggle to
estar por	to be in favor of
interesarse por	to be interested in
jurar por	to swear by
luchar por	to struggle for
molestarse por	to bother about
optar por	to opt for
pagar por	to pay with
preguntar por	to ask about
preocuparse por	to worry about
rezar por	to pray for
salir por	to leave via
ser decidido por	to be decided by
tomar por	to take for
viajar por (tren, autobús)	to travel by (train, bus)
votar por	to vote for

"PARA"

purpose

• El regalo es para los lectores del blog.

The gift is for blog readers.

goal

• Para practicar español, no es necesario vivir en un país hispanohablante.

To learn Spanish, you do not have to live in a Spanish speaking country.

recipient

• Este regalo es para ti.

This gift is for you

point of view

• Para mí, es importante viajar.

For me it is important to travel.

scheduled date

• Para el 20 de mayo, hay que aprender esta lección.

For May 20, you have to learn this lesson.

Expressions using "para"

"estar para"

This expression is used to indicate an action that is about to be realized:

• Estamos para terminar la lección de hoy.

We are about to finish today's lesson.

List of expressions

Spanish	English
para abajo	down, downward
para adelante	forward
para detrás	backward
para entonces	by that time
para esa época	by that time
para otra vez	for another occasion
para que	so that, in order that
para qué	why for what purpose
para siempre	forever
para variar	just for a change
ser tal para cual	to be two of a kind

Sources

• https://espagnol-pas-a-pas.fr/por-et-para-comment-enfin-ne-plus-les-confondre/
• https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/spanish-verbs-with-prepositions/
• https://www.lawlessspanish.com/grammar/verbs/verbs-with-por/
• https://www.spanishdict.com/guide/expressions-with-por-and-para/

Other Lessons

• The Articles
• Imperfect Tense
• Adjectives
• Orientación sobre el uso de Articulos
• Questions
• Past Participle
• Use of verb Haber
• Eso Esto Aquello
• Sentense Structure
• Comaratives and Superlatives