In a nutshell…
Por and Para can be a tricky duo . However, with a few simple rules you will get them right 95% of the time very quickly!
For the other 5%, don’t sweat it. With practice you will get there. My advice for the last 5%… pick one and go for it. If it’s not right it may cause a slight delay in understanding but mixed with the rest of the conversation, you’ll get your point across clearly enough.
Before I give you the short cut to help you get this right a good 95% of the time, here’s one of the main mistakes that people make:
POR doesn’t only mean FOR!
People often choose POR when they want to say FOR and this is purely because it rhymes and therefore it ‘sounds right’ when they say it. Actually, on a day to day basis, when you want to say FOR you are more likely to use PARA.
PARA… It’s all about DESTINATION!
The rules of when to use PARA are the easiest because PARA has far fewer translations than POR. So let’s deal with PARA first.
Most of the time PARA will be translated as FOR and will be used when thinking about a ‘DESTINATION’.
We can use PARA when something is DESTINED for a =
Person / Place / Purpose / Time
Examples:
Imagine inserting the word ‘destined‘ in front of each ‘for‘ and it still makes sense.
| The present is (destined) for my mum. El regalo es para mi madre. |
| The train is (destined) for London. El tren es para Londres. |
| My homework is (destined) for tomorrow. Mis deberes son para mañana. |
| This vase is (destined) for flowers. Este jarrón es para flores. |
Knowing that on a daily basis we use PARA more often and also being aware that there are less rules to learn, your best tactic when choosing between POR and PARA is to see if it makes sense to use PARA first. If it doesn’t, go for POR. You’ll be right 95% of the time!
Of course, it helps to make that decision more confidently if you have some knowledge of when to use POR so that you can at least try and discount/confirm it’s use on some occasions. So read on to get a better understanding of when to use POR (although the list is much longer)!
POR… it’s mainly about MOVEMENT!
POR isn’t quite as easy because it has a fair few translations. Mainly to do with movement.
As mentioned previously, it can translate as FOR, although on a day to day basis, you’ll more often use it to say ‘by/through/around/via’.
When unsure, the question to ask yourself is, “Can I apply one of these words (by/through/around/via) to what I am saying or can I substitute what I am saying with one of these words and not lose the meaning?” If so, it’s likely to be POR that you need.
Let’s look at some typical uses linked to movement
| Your shoes are over there. (Your shoes are around there.) | Tus zapatos están por allí. |
| We are going in the afternoon. (We are going around the afternoon time.) | Vamos por la tarde. |
| We walk through the park. (We walk via the park.) | Caminamos por el parque. |
| They go by coach. (They go via coach.) | Van por autocar. |
| They speak by phone. (They speak via phone.) | Hablan por teléfono. |
Want more on POR?… Let’s look at when it means FOR:
As I have said (maybe too many times now), on a daily basis, when saying FOR you are more likely to say things that require PARA, although there are occasions when you need POR, so here they are:
| To say thank you for or sorry for… | Gracias por tu tiempo. (Thanks for your time.) Siento por molestarte. (Sorry for disturbing you.) |
| When saying ‘to take someone as a…/for a… | Me tienes por idiota. (You take me for/as an idiot.) |
| After ir, venir, pasar, mandar, volver, and preguntar. Often when used to give a reason for doing something… meaning to: Go for/come for/ pass by for / send for/ return for /ask for (about)… Note: Expect to see a noun (a thing) after these phrases, rather than an infinitive. | Pasaré por ti a las seis. (I’ll come by for you at 6 o’clock.) Preguntó por mi madre. (He asked for/about my mum.) Madamos por los otros. (We sent for the others.) Vine por ti más temprano. (I came for you earlier) Volveremos pronto por Ana. We’ll return for Ana soon. Vamos por ello. Let’s go for it. |
| With for/against phrases to mean in favour of. I.e. to vote for/opt for/go for: | Voté por Pablo. (I voted for Pablo.) |
| To say ‘(in exchange) for‘: | Recibí mil euros por el coche. (I received 1000 euros (in exchange) for the car.) |
What? Even more POR uses?! Okay… here you go!
Yes, there are still a fair few occasions when we use POR but we are not talking about MOVEMENT or saying FOR. This is why it is much easier to learn the uses for PARA! However, here they are regardless:
| For multiplication and division: | Dos por cinco son diez. (Two times two equals four.) |
| To mean ‘per’ (typically used with frequency/velocity/proportion): | Trabajo cinco días por semana. (I work five days per week.) |
| To mean “during” when talking about unspecific or general time: | Trabajo por la noche. (I work during the night.) |
One last thing about POR…
POR is also used for all sorts of set phrases. Such as, por favor (please) and por lo tanto (therefore). These often don’t translate literally so don’t worry about learning the HUGE list. Just pick them up one by one as you go along.
Here’s a few to get you going:
- por amor de Dios (for the love of God)
- por desgracia (unfortunately)
- por ejemplo (for example)
- por casualidad (by chance)
- por fin (finally)
- por ciento (percent)
- por lo general (generally)
- por cierto (certainly)
If your brain can take any more…
FOR is often the cause of the problems when people can’t choose between POR and PARA.
An example of one of the most common sentences that cause uncertainty:
I bought the gift FOR my mum:
| I bought the gift on behalf of my mum. = POR Compré el regalo por mi madre. | I bought the gift to give to my mum. = PARA (It is destined for her.) Compré el regalo para mi madre. |
Another occasion when the sentence can change meaning depending on whether you use POR or PARA is with ESTAR:
| Estar POR (to be up for…) | Estar PARA (to be about to…/ to be ready to) |
| Estoy por salir I’m up for going out. El trabajo está por terminar The work is yet to finish. (Still to be finished.) | Estoy para salir (I’m about to go out/ I’m ready to go out) |
Note:
In Spanish speaking South American countries, it can be typical to see a variation of uses for Estar POR and Estar PARA in comparison to the usage in Spain. For example. You may find that in some countries they will say ‘estoy por…’ to mean ‘I’m about to’ instead of ‘estoy para‘. You could take this one of two ways… get annoyed that different countries sometimes apply different rules or my preference… take solace that you’ll be getting it right somewhere in the world!
In conclusion
I’ve given you the rules for when to use PARA and when to use POR, however unfortunately there can be the odd difference in their usage across different Spanish speaking countries. This is why people find POR and PARA so frustrating…
One minute you learn a rules and you are gaining confidence when using them, then all of a sudden you see an example of the opposite use in an online grammar task or during a film you are watching! I mean… how can you learn the rules if they are different in different Spanish speaking countries?
My answer to that is… don’t sweat it! These cases are few and far between and if there’s flexibility amongst different Spanish speaking countries then you can also be a bit flexible when you are really unsure.
The main thing to remember is that if you apply the rules above (try sticking with approach whereby you see if you need PARA first) you’ll be absolutely fine 95% of the time and for the final 5%… Well… in one of the Spanish speaking countries you are probably right. So happy days!
Why not see how much of this you’ve taken in? Head over to Simple Spanish Tips and have a go at the interactive practice activities! You’ll find Por VS Para and much more!
Did you find this blog useful?
If so, please take the time to share it with friends, family and on your social media. I’d really appreciate it.
Would you like know what more Simple Spanish Tips has to offer you?
Why not visit the website, where you’ll find simple Spanish grammar explanations, interactive grammar exercises, and vocabulary lists with practice activities.