Por and Para are undoubtedly some of the most challenging prepositions to master for intermediate Spanish students.

I would put it in the same list as ser/estar and other controversial topics that haunt Spanish students.

The reason for this is simple, there are just too many different uses for them.

Moreover, they are quite difficult to categorize.

They take on the responsibility of many English prepositions such as: by, on, through, for, among others.

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Por & Para in Spanish

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Sometimes it would seem that their uses overlap, adding to the confusion.

Also, remember that prepositions seem to be very arbitrary words and sometimes direct translations are misleading or plain wrong.

Therefore, context will be key to fully understand and know when to use them.

As with ser/estar, the recommendation is to try to do as many examples as you need.

  As always, remember that you are going to stumble upon an exception that will make you go crazy sooner or later!

However, studying its most common uses will give you a good chance to communicate efficiently.

Por:

a) States the reason, cause or the motivation behind a situation.

• Me gusta más por­­ el color (The motivation for my preference is the color)
• Llegamos tarde por el tráfico (The reason why we are late is the traffic)
• La tienda está cerrada por las fiestas (The store is closed because of the holidays )

Replace POR by BECAUSE OF.

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b) It is used to refer to the way you travel, method or route. 

• Voy a viajar por tren ( The train will be my method of transportation)

Replace POR by BY

• Vamos a pasar por Sudamérica (the route will take us through south America)

Replace POR by THROUGH

c) For communication (phone, text, mail, etc.)

•  Mis tios y yo nos comunicamos por correo (Our method of communication is mail)
• La comunicación con la empresa es por teléfono (the channel through which we communicate is the telephone)
• Pide la pizza por WhatsApp (order it through the WhatsApp app)

In the first two examples POR could be replaced by BY, in the last one by ON.

d) When speaking about exchanges, trade, barter, and any other transaction.

• Te cambio mi PlayStation por tu Xbox (in Exchange for your Xbox I will give you my PS )
• Ayer cambiamos el coche por una moto (we changed the car for a bike)
• Te doy 100 pesos por tu sombrero

Replace POR by FOR.

 e) It defines a length of time.

• Hemos estado en clase por 3 horas
• El comediante habló por 2 horas sin parar
• Él ha estado en prisión por 10 años

Replace POR by FOR

e) Being on the brink of doing something.

• Estoy por hacer la comida (I was about to start cooking, but I haven´t started yet)
• La situación global está por mejorar

Replace POR by ABOUT TO

f) Doing something on behalf of someone

• Maria esta dando el discurso por mí (she is doing it on my behalf)  
• Jaime trabajo por mí el viernes pasado   

Replace POR by INSTEAD OF

         Quite a lot to take in isn´t it?

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Para:

a) States the purpose of something

• Vamos a la escuela para aprender (the purpose of going is to learn)
• El gobierno existe para mejorar la sociedad (the objective is to improve society)
• Trabajamos para producir bienes y servicios (the final goal of our work is to produce goods and services)
• El control es para controlar el dron

PARA could be replaced by TO

b) Express opinions

• Para mí, eso fue un error (In my opinion)
•  José es un mal trabajador para mis jefes(In their opinion)

PARA could be replaced by FOR

c) Pointing out destinations

• Yo voy para Nueva york ( literally: I go to New York)
•  La chica va para el cine (literally: The girl goes to the cinema )
• Ellos van para allá (literally: They go there)

PARA could be replaced by TO or wouldn´t even be needed in English

Por & Para in Spanish

c) Indicating recipients

• La casa es para Armando (the intended recipient for the house is Armando)
• Los regalos son para los niños (the recipient of the gifts are the kids)

PARA could be replaced by FOR

d) Indicating deadlines

• El proyecto es para el próximo lunes
• El reporte era para hace una semana

PARA could be replaced by FOR

A good exercise to understand the nuances between Por-Para is the following:

Write a few sentences in which Por-Para can be interchanged.

Try to imagine what they could mean in both instances.

Remember, many times both will be correct, it depends on what you want to say.

Keep in mind that, at times, the differences could be quite subtle and it could even stir up controversy among native speakers.

Eg. Trabajo para-por Raquel

Depending on the meaning you want to convey you can use one or the other.

Trabajo por Raquel

1. I work instead of Raquel
2.  My motivation to work is Raquel

Trabajo para Raquel

1. I work for Raquel
2. The purpose of my work goes to Raquel

Eg. ¿Para-Por qué vas a la escuela?

¿Para qué vas a la escuela?

1. What is the goal of going to school
2. What is the purpose of going to school

¿Por qué vas a la escuela?

1. What is the reason for you to go to school
2. What causes you to go to school

Fill in the blanks with por or para.

1.- Estoy estudiando ________ ser ingeniero.

2.- La familia de Jorge está ________ llegar.

3.- Las reglas son ________ seguirse.

We hope this explanations and examples are useful and allow you to better understand the nuances between these words.