One of the first topics in grammar that you need to learn is the difference between por and para. However, these two prepositions cause a lot of confusion among new students.
Don’t worry, at Ecuaidioma we are going to help you better understand this grammatical structure. Let’s start by reviewing the preposition «por». Its most frequent use it to express the cause or reason for an action.
Examples:
1. Yo no puedo salir de mi casa por el Corona-virus.
2. María y Pedro se casaron únicamente por dinero.
In the case of these two examples there is a cause or reason for a certain action to be taken.
Another use of «por» is to refer to spatial location but in an indeterminate way, that is, when I am talking about a place that is not specific, we use por
Examples:
1. Mañana voy a dar un paseo por la ciudad.
2. Ayer estuve caminando por el centro histórico de Quito.
In the first sentence, we use por because we refer to the city in general and not to a specific place, the same happens for the second sentence.
In the case of «para», it is mainly used to talk about a purpose or a specific objective.
Examples:
1. Yo corro todos los días para bajar de peso.
2. Nosotros estudiamos Español para viajar a Quito.
In the examples, each of the actions performed by the subjects has a clear objective or purpose.
«Para» is also used if we want to talk about a recipient.
Examples
1. Ella compró este regalo para su madre.
2. Ellos hicieron una fiesta de cumpleaños para su mejor amigos.
Although there are more uses of por and para, these are the most common when speaking Spanish. We hope this information has been useful for you.