Language/Spanish/Grammar/Por-vs-Para

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

In today's lesson, we are studying something that may seem difficult for many Spanish learners: when should you use "POR" or "PARA".

Let's discover, together, how to avoid confusing these two words and avoid many errors!

• "POR": refers to the CAUSE. A cause is the source of, the reason for an event or action that which produces or effects a result. It can be replaced by the English "due to".
• "PARA": is used to say the PURPOSE. The purpose is an object to be reached, a target, an aim or a goal. It can be replaced by the English "in order to".

BUT I have 2 bad news:

1. There are exceptions to this rule, else it would be too easy!
2. The only way to master these exceptions is to learn them by heart gradually.

As usual, do not think to read this article and have definitively solved the problem between "POR" and "PARA".

I'm going to teach you to distinguish them, but write down any difficulties you encounter to help your memory. Master these exceptions little by little, and without pressure.

Let's start to learn:

Specificities of "POR"

Refers to the cause

• Es famoso por su canción

He is famous because of - or thanks to - this song

Refers to a space crossing

"pasar por"

• él pasó por aquí

He went through here

Indicates a time of the day

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

• Por la mañana, suelo desayunar mucho.

In the morning, I usually eat a lot for breakfast

Express 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 or exchange

• Lo he comprado por diez euros.

I bought it for ten euros

Thanks for

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

• Gracias por leer este artículo.

Thanks for reading this article

Verbs that are always followed by "por"

This is the case, for example, with "preocuparse por" or "interesarse por"

• 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

I apologize for being late

More verbs:

Spanish	English
afanarse por	to strive to
asustarse por (or de)	to get frightened about
cambiar por	to exchange for
comenzar por or con	to begin with/by
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, to ask about
jurar por	to swear by/on
luchar por	to struggle for
molestarse por	to bother about
optar por	to opt for
pagar por (or con)	to pay with/by
preguntar por	to ask about/after
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

Specificities of "PARA"

Express the purpose

• El regalo es para los lectores del blog.

The gift is for blog readers.

Express the 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.

Refers the recipient

• Este regalo es para ti.

This gift is for you

Express a point of view

• Para mí, es importante viajar.

For me it is important to travel.

Announces a 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.

More 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/