Lesson 50: When to use 'Para' or 'Por' (Part 1)
These two words can give learners a headache as they can both mean 'for' as well as a bunch of other words like 'by', 'because of', etc.
Lets start this with one of the most common phrases you'll here if you socialise in a Spanish country:
 Spanish |  English |
|---|---|
| Gracias por venir | Thank you for coming |
Now if you remember in a previos lesson we also saw:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Para mi | For mi |
| Para ti | For you |
| Para él | For him |
| Para ella | For her |
Which shows us that Spanish have two words for "for" so which one to use and when?
'Para' is used when we want to say something is "for" someone - "this is for you".
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Este es para ti | This (one) is for you |
| Estos son para ti | These (ones) are for you |
'por' means "for" in other situations - and it also can mean a whole lot of other things - which we'll look at now.
'Por' as "because of"
We can see this use in "Why" and "Because":
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Por qué? | Why (because of what)? |
| Porque | Because (because of that) |
So lets put that in a mega sentence: "Because of this reason I don't want to go" and translate it by breaking it down.
- "Because of" - 'Porque'
- "this reason" - 'esta razón'
- "I don't want" - 'no quiero'
- "to go" - 'ir'
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Porque esta razón no quiero ir | Because of this reason I don't want to go |
So lets see how swapping 'para' for 'por' fundamentally changes the meaning of a sentence:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Lo compro para ti | I am buying it for you |
| Lo he comprado para ti | I have bought it for you |
| Lo compro por ti | I am buying it because of you |
| Lo he comprado por ti | I have bought it because of you |
'Por' when we talk about time
'Día' in Spanish means "Day". You can remember it from the English word "Deity" which refers to a God and according to the bible (you don't need to believe it!) one of God's first steps was to create day and night.
You can also remember it because it is one of those very few 'a' ending words that is masculine and this connection between 'God' and the traditional stereotype, now so controversial, that God was male is a good hook for your memory.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| El día | The day |
| Los días | The days |
| Todos los días | All the days / every day |
'Todos los días' has to be one of my favorite phrases just by the way it rolls of the tongue and how you can use it to show how hard you work - 'Aprendo epañol todos los días!'
OK - lets put this new word and 'por' to work with stuff we've already learnt:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Me quedo por tres días | I'm staying for three days |
| Me quedaré por tres días | I will stay for three days |
| Me quedaría por tres días | I would stay for three days |
And now translating a mega sentence by breaking it down: "I would stay for three days but I have to work".
- "I would stay" - 'Me quedaría'
- "for three days" - 'por tres días'
- "but" - 'pero'
- "I have to work" - 'tengo que trabajar'
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Me quedaría por dos días pero tengo que trabajar | I would stay for three days but I have to work |