Prepositions are one of the main challenges that Spanish students face.
These invariable parts of sentences, without gender (masculine or feminine), number (singular or plural) or inflection, don’t have a translation or meaning by themselves, which makes it difficult to learn and use them.
In this article we tell you more about them, explain what they are, their use and what is the difference between the prepositions Por and Para in Spanish, possibly the ones that cause the most confusion.
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What are the prepositions por and para used for?
In Spanish, prepositions have an exclusively grammatical function.
Their purpose within sentences is to link or express the relationship between two or more other terms, providing context and coherence.
In fact, prepositions are also used to introduce or connect an organized group of words or to construct a sentence appropriately.
The problem is that, if we don’t use prepositions correctly, the sentences and the text can lose their meaning.
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What are the prepositions in Spanish and what are they used for?
The prepositions in Spanish are a, ante, bajo, cabe, con, contra, de, desde, durante, en, en, entre, hacia, hasta, mediante, para, por, por, según, sin, so, sobre, tras, versus and vía.
Regarding its use, it is very diverse and can indicate:
- Location
- Distance
- Time
- Mode
- Means
- Cause
- Company
- Equivalence
- Deprivation
- Possession or ownership
- Origin or source
- Topic or matter
- Content
- Quantity
Main differences between por and para in Spanish
Out of all the prepositions in Spanish, por and para are the ones that cause the most confusion.
Additionally, these prepositions are among the most common mistakes made by students in their grammar exams, along with the verbs ser and estar, or the correct use of the imperfect past tense as well as the indefinite past tense.
This is basically due to three different reasons:
- Por and para are widely used in Spanish (as a curiosity, the RAE lists 27 different uses of the preposition “por” and 10 of the preposition “para”).
- In most of the world’s languages, there is no difference between por and para.
- The use of “para” and “por” is quite similar, which makes it even more confusing.
Practicing and doing por and para exercises is a basic if you want to learn Spanish correctly.
From Españolé we are also going to give you some tricks that can make your job easier.
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Por vs. para: everything you need to know
The key to properly use por and para is to understand the basic rules of these propositions and that you should never mix them up.
Cause vs. Intention
Cause
A cause is the motive or reason that makes an action happen, in other words, what generates or drives it.
In Spanish, if we want to express the cause of something, we will use the preposition “por”, followed by a noun, a pronoun, the infinitive or an adjective.
Here are some examples:
- He cogido el paraguas por la lluvia (I took the umbrella because of the rain).
- Marcos fue a la cárcel por robar en un banco (Marcos went to jail for robbing a bank).
- Juan hace todo por nosotros (Juan does everything for us).
- No viniste a la carrera por vago (You didn’t come to the race because you were lazy).
Intention
The intention is the opposite of the cause.
This means that if the cause is the reason, the purpose is the goal we want to achieve with an action.
In Spanish, an intention is expressed with the preposition “para” followed by an infinitive, as you can see in the following examples:
- María hace horas extra para ganar más dinero (Maria works overtime to earn more money).
- Quiero estudiar en Valencia para aprender español (I want to study in Valencia to learn Spanish).
Crossing point vs. direction or destination
The prepositions para and por can both indicate displacement, although in different ways.
Crossing point
A crossing point is part of a route, a space through which we pass that leads us to a final destination.
In this case, we will use the preposition “por”.
- Voy a tu casa por la avenida Blasco Ibáñez (I go to your house through Blasco Ibáñez Avenue).
- En verano nado por el mar (In the Summer I swim in the ocean).
- Me encanta pasear por Valencia de noche (I love to walk around Valencia at night).
Direction
The proposition “para” is usually used to indicate that we are moving towards a specific place, in a certain direction.
- Voy a la escuela, tengo clase a las 10 (I have to go to school, I have class at 10 a.m).
- Ellos van para Madrid (They are going to Madrid).
En este caso, la preposición “para” puede sustituirse por “a” o “hacia”, con las que tendríamos un significado similar e incluso algo más preciso.
- Voy hacia la escuela, tengo clase a las 10.
- Ellos van a Madrid.
Preference vs. Opinion
Opinion and preference can be easily mixed up, so choosing between para and por is not simple either.
Preference
A preference is to select an option, among many others, because we like it, we want it, or it seems more appropriate to us.
The combination, in this case, is “por” + pronoun.
– ¿En dónde te apetece comer? ¿Prefieres un asiático, un italiano o un restaurante español? (Where do you feel like eating? Do you prefer an Asian, an Italian or a Spanish restaurant? )
– Por mí, vamos a un bar de tapas que hay cerca de la escuela (For me, we can go to a tapas bar near the school).
Personal or someone else’s opinion
We can give an opinion about almost anything, and for this we use the preposition “para”, followed by a pronoun or a person’s name.
- Para ella, lo mejor es quedarse en casa los sábados (For her, it is best to stay home on Saturdays).
- Para Luis, es mejor que lleguemos allí antes de las 3 (For Luis, it’s better if we get there before 3 pm).
- Para mí, el Valencia C.F. juega mejor que el F.C. Barcelona (For me, Valencia C.F. plays better than F.C. Barcelona).
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Other common uses of por and para in Spanish
Main uses of the preposition por
In addition to the above, the preposition por can also be used to:
- Express a time of day.
Llegaremos por la mañana (We will arrive in the morning).
- To make an exchange
Te cambio esta camiseta por otra del mismo color (I’ll exchange this T-shirt for another of the same color).
- To express or agree on a price
Te vendo este libro antiguo de español por 20 euros (I’ll sell you this old Spanish book for 20 euros).
- Indicate a communication channel
Podemos hablar por WhatsApp o por mail, como te resulte más cómodo (We can talk by WhatsApp or email, whatever you find more comfortable).
- Specify an approximate location
Estoy cerca de la escuela, por las Torres de Quart (I am near the school, by the Torres de Quart).
- Establish a frequency or periods of time
Voy a clases privadas de español dos veces por semana (I go to private Spanish classes twice a week).
- As a complement (in passive voice sentences)
Active sentence: María hizo la paella de mi cumpleaños (María made the paella for my birthday).
Passive sentence: La paella de mi cumpleaños fue hecha por María (My birthday paella was made by María).
Main uses of the preposition para
In addition to the above, the preposition “para” can also be used to:
- To indicate the recipient of an action or thing.
La carta es para Jaime (The letter is for Jaime).
- To set a deadline.
Esperamos la respuesta para el 20 de diciembre (We expect an answer by December 20).
- Indicates unwillingness or inability to do something ( negative effect).
No estoy para bromas (I’m not in the mood for jokes).
No estoy para ir de concierto, estoy cansado y mañana tengo que estudiar (I’m not in the mood to go to a concert, I’m tired and tomorrow I have to study).
- To make comparisons
Para ciudades españolas, bonitas y con mar, Valencia (As for Spanish cities, beautiful and with sea, Valencia).
Finally, we are going to list some verbs with which we can use the prepositions “por” and “para” very frequently:
- Llorar por (To cry for).
- Decidirse por (To decide for).
- Trabajar por (To work for).
- Luchar por (To fight for).
- Prepararse para (To prepare for).
- Autorizar para (Authorize for).
- Clasificar para (Classify for).
- Arreglarse para (Get ready for).
We hope you find this article useful in order to review the topics learned in your Spanish courses in Spain, and to better understand the differences between por and para as well as to use these propositions correctly.
If you are interested in continuing to learn how to speak Spanish, as well as getting to know the culture, habits and traditions of our country, we invite you to discover our intensive Spanish courses in Valencia, Spain. We look forward to seeing you!
