Por vs. Para
Por or para? The logic behind the challenge
As Spanish teachers in every new beginners, and not so beginners, course we encounter students who have issues differentiating when to use por and when to use para. If you are here reading this blog that means that you are probably facing the same issues identifying if your sentence belongs to the first or to the second option.
For our students, and now also for you who are reading us, we have a brief and quite often effective explanation to understand the logic behind the meanings as we not always can see what use of these words our message relates to. We hope you find the following explanations useful!
Por
In the general perspective por means motive, reason, process, and it implies that what is being said needs to go through progress. Let's explain this a bit deeply.
Por as movement through space
We like to present concepts in a more visual way if possible. So we picture por as a continuity, as a movement that goes on a path. For example, in the sentence he viajado por España este año (I travelled through Spain this year), por gives the meaning of the space that has been covered. In this sense, por brings the movement of the action being explained.
Por as duration in time
In line with this meaning we can also find duration in time. For example, in the sentence ha trabajado por 12 horas hoy (s/he worked [for] 12 hours today), por brings the same idea, the progress of the process of working, rather than the result.
Por as indication of means for communication
Also in this line can be seen the means for communication as por indicates the via, the support which makes possible the process itself. For example, in the sentence hemos hablado por Zoom (we talked via Zoom) por refers to the actual way through which the process has been carried out. If the act of communication was successful or not is not relevant.
Por as motivation
Let’s see another example of a different type: hago esto por ti (I do this for you). Here por transmits the entire process I’m being through in order to bring you the result, whatever this result might be, here is not the point. The point is all I’m going through to get there, which also motivates me and keeps me going. So, por ti is the reason for all that process.
Por as exchange
There is still another idea in which por can be used: exchange. Here por will add the meaning of the transaction, in other words, the process through which the transaction has been done. For example, in the sentence he pagado 1€ por la cerveza (I paid €1 for the beer) por brings the perception of that moment of exchange when I gave my €1 while the waiter gave me the beer [this might not occur exactly in this way, but I visualize it like that in my mind when I hear this type of sentence].
Para
On another place we have para, we won’t say on the other side because we don’t see por and para as opposites. In a general meaning para means goal, finality, ending, result. It implies that what is being said aims to the very ending point, paying no attention to the process to get there, just to the result. Going back to the visualization of this we would picture para as a big jump from point “A” to point “B”.
Para as recipient
For example, in the sentence he comprado estas flores para ti (I bought these flowers for you), what para brings is that “you” are the purpose, the finality of my purchase and the process in between or the effort to get the flowers is not relevant nor important. Maybe I went por (through) an odyssey to get them, or waited por (for) 2 hours to the florist to come back, but that is not the point here. The point is the goal, you receiving the flowers I bought for you.
Para as destination
Let’s explore another use of para. In the sentence voy para tu casa (I go to your house), para brings the meaning of the destination, the ending point of my trip. It doesn’t matter if on my way I had to cross por (through) a park or if I had to wait por (for) 10 minutes at three traffic lights. The point here is the end of all my adventures, me arriving at your house.
Para as deadline
Also when talking about time if para is used it means the ending moment or the deadline. Look at this example: la tarea es para el lunes (the homework is due Monday). Here para refers to the very end of the period available to complete the task, what I have done to get there on time is not important.
Para as goal
Goals are also expressed using para. When targeting a point we aim to the final step, to the moment of accomplishment when we will be ready for whatever comes afterwards. Take this example estudio español para viajar (I study Spanish to travel), the ultimate goal of my learning is being able to communicate while traveling. In that sense I have to finish my goal (my course of Spanish for travelling) before the next step because I need this knowledge for it.
Para as an option to give an opinion
Even when expressing an opinion it’s possible to use para. I see this as the indication of the result of the process of thinking through a topic. For example when I say para nosotros es una buena película (to us it's a good movie), para implies that we have watched the movie entirely, and that we have thought about it. Subsequently, we are capable of saying that we consider it a good movie. In this sense, our opinion shows the result of all of this process and that’s why we need to use para, the process is already finished.
Some phrases with por and para > fixed expressions
There are other uses of por and para in combination with other words or groups of words. In most of these cases the actual meaning of por and para pretty much disappears to melt with the expression itself. Let’s see a couple of examples to understand it better:
Por: por favor (please), por ejemplo (for example), por fin (finally)...
Para: para siempre (forever), para variar (just for the change), para entonces (by that time)...
As we can see the logic of process or ending point cannot be applied in all the examples, actually, some of them are even contradictory with what we have seen before. In this case we would dare to say that as fixed expressions they might not be included in those categories above but rather just be considered independently.
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