Por y Para

7th Period

When expressing gratitude or when apologizing; use por

• GRATITUDE:• - Gracias por su interés en el proyecto.• - Thanks for your interest in the project.

• APOLOGY:• - Perdóname por haber dejado caer el vaso.• - Pardon me for having let the glass fall.

When talking about how you communicate or transportationuse por

• COMMUNICATION• - Los hermanos se hablan por Skype.• - The kids talk to one another via Skype.• TRANSPORTATION• - Los refugiados llegan a los Estados Unidos por barco.• - The refugees arrive to the United States by boat.• - Los víctimas del accidente llegan al hospital por

helicóptero.• - The victims of the accident arrive to the hospital by

helicopter.

Whenever you need to express a certain amount of time, such as hours, weeks,

days, etc., use the word "por”.

• Ex. My little brother studied Spanish for 3 hours.

• Mi hermanito estudió el español por 3 horas.

• Ex. I'm going to San Francisco for a week.• Voy a San Francisco por una semana.

Whenever you need to express something happening in a general time frame use the word "por”.

• Ex. We eat breakfast in the morning and eat dinner in the afternoon.

• Nos desayunamos por las mañanas y cenamos por las noches.

• Ex. They ski in the winter.• Ellas esquían por los inviernos.

Passive voice:When something is done in the past or done by someone you use por.

• Example: • El cuadro fue pintado por Picasso.• ( The painting was painted by Picasso.)

Expressing cause:You use por for cause and effect situations.

• Examples: • Los muchachos sacan notas malas por no

estudiar.• (The kids get bad grades due to not

studying.)

-Any time you are exchanging something, use por.

• El jefe me dio un bono grande por trabajar extra. (The boss gave me a big bonus for working extra.)

• Mi mamá me compró el regalo por cinco dólares. (My mom bought the gift for $5.)

-Any time you are saying "per," use por.

• Mis abuelos van al mercado cuatro días por semana. (My grandparents go to the market four times per week.)

• Cuando manejan en la carretera, los taxistas manejan 70 millas por hora. (When they drive on the highway, the taxi drivers drive 70 miles per hour.)

Anytime you are multiplying or dividing, use -Por

• Ex: 5x5=25 , in English we read this as five times five, in Spanish you would read it as five by five.

• Ex: 25/5=5 , in English we say twenty five divided BY five and as learned yesterday -Por can also stand as by.

Anything associated with an area or space you use por. Going through, along, or by an

area,space, or place.

• Los ciclistas montan sus bicicletas por las montañas.• The bicyclist ride their bikes through the mountains.

• Caminamos por la valla de madera.• We walked along the wooden fence.

When you want to indicate something that is going to be received you use "para”

• - Para is used to indicate something that is in the future or upcoming.

• - In the following example para is being used to indicate a recipient of something in the future:

• - Ex. Mis papás compran los billetes para mí. ( My parents buy the tickets for me.)

• - Here the person is going to receive tickets that his parents are going to buy for him in the future.

When you want to indicate an in order to or for the purpose of situation you use "para”

• - Again, para is used to indicate something that is in the future or upcoming.

• - In this example para is being used for an in order to situation:

• - Ex. Para subir la montaña en el telesilla debes comprar billetes para el telesilla. (In order to go up the mountain on the ski lift, you should buy tickets for the ski lift.)

• - In this "in order to" situation before the person could go up the mountain they had to buy the tickets for the ski lift. They will be buying the tickets in the future.

When you want to indicate something that is about to happen you use "para”

• - Para means "about to" in these types of sentences.

• - Ex. El tren está para salir. (The train is about to leave.)

• - This sentence uses para because it is describing how the train is about to leave.

• Para - To express opinion

• You use para to say: for subject(in opinion)

• For example: Para mí poder leer es muy importante.

• For me (in my opinion) to be able to read is very important.

• Comparison with what is considered normal• You use para to contrast what is expected of a

person based on a description of them.

• For example: Para un atleta mayor corre muy rápido.

• For an older athlete he runs very fast.

• When you want to express a deadline, a specific time, or a destination in time you use para.

• - Examples: • -El professor dice: necesito los ensayos para el

viernes. (The teacher says, "I need the essays by Friday."

• -Mis papas quieren ordenar la cena para el comienzo de la fiesta. (My parents want to order the dinner by the start of the party.)

• -Both of these examples express a destination in time because they are both deadlines.

• When you want to express a destination in space or a movement toward something you use para.

• - Example: • - Los turistas salen para Machu Picchu. (The

tourists leave for Machu Picchu.)• - This is used for para because the tourists have

a destination and they are leaving to move towards Machu Picchu.