Por vs para, explained

Both words often translate as "for", which is why English speakers mix them up. Spanish does not see one word with two spellings: it sees two different relations. Here is every common use on one page.

Para points at an end point. With a place, that end point is a destination: "salimos para Sevilla" says where the trip is headed, not where it passes. With an infinitive, it is a purpose, and "para + infinitive" is the everyday way to say "in order to". With a person, it is the recipient or the one the work is done for: a book for your brother, a job for a German company. With a date, it is the deadline: "para el lunes" means by Monday, the point the task has to reach.

The purpose use is the one that matters most, because English hides it. "I study to pass" has no "for" in it at all, yet Spanish needs para. Whenever you could say "in order to" in English, Spanish wants para followed by the infinitive. When the two halves have different subjects, para que takes the subjunctive instead: "te lo explico para que lo entiendas".

Break down your own sentence

• ¿Para qué sirve este botón?What is this button for?
• Compré un libro para mi hermano.I bought a book for my brother. (He will get it.)
• Hay que terminarlo para mañana.It has to be finished by tomorrow.
• Necesito gafas para leer.I need glasses to read.

Por points the other way: at what lies behind or along an action. As a cause, it answers "why?": the beach closed because of the storm, I was late because of the traffic. As a route, it is the space something moves through: por el centro, por la ventana, por el parque. In time, it marks a part of the day ("por la mañana") or a stretch of time. As a means, it is the channel something travels by: por teléfono, por correo.

Exchange belongs here too. When you pay, you hand over money and receive something back, and por links the two sides of the swap. Prices, trades, "thanks for", and "I'll give you this for that" all take por. The same idea of one thing standing for another gives "on behalf of": "hablo por todo el equipo" means my words stand for theirs. Por also introduces the agent of a passive ("fue diseñado por…", by) and rates, where one quantity is counted against another (cien kilómetros por hora, dos veces por semana).

• Llegué tarde por el tráfico.I was late because of the traffic.
• El gato entró por la ventana.The cat came in through the window.
• Te lo mando por correo.I'll send it to you by post (or email).
• Estuve en Chile por tres semanas.I was in Chile for three weeks. (Common in Latin America; Spain tends to say "durante tres semanas" or just "tres semanas".)
• Gana mil euros por mes.She earns a thousand euros a month. ("Al mes" is just as common.)

Explain por and para at your levelwith Plus

The model most teachers use is a picture of an arrow. Para points forward from the action to where it is heading: a place, a goal, a person who will receive something, a deadline. Por points backward from the action to what set it off or what it passed through: a cause, a route, the price that bought it. Asked of a new sentence, the question "is this a goal or a cause?" settles most cases, and it is the right first question.

It is not a rule, though, and several uses fit it badly. Para for opinion ("para mí") and for comparison ("para su edad") do not point anywhere: they set the statement against a person's view or against a standard. Por for rates ("por hora"), for the agent of a passive and for "on behalf of" are not really causes either. Learn these as their own uses rather than forcing them into the arrow.

The model also has a soft middle, where motive (por) and goal (para) are two views of the same thing, and either can be right with a small change of meaning. And "ir por" (in Spain also "ir a por") means to go and fetch something: por with a goal, against the arrow.

• Trabaja por dinero.He works for money. (Money is his motive.)
• Trabaja para ganar dinero.He works to earn money. (Earning is his goal.)
• Voy por pan.I'm going to get bread. (Spain also: "Voy a por pan".)
• Para ser extranjero, habla muy bien.For a foreigner, he speaks very well.

Change one word and the sentence changes meaning. Both of these are correct Spanish, and both translate as "I did it for you" or "I made it for you", but a Spanish speaker hears two different things.

The same test works on other pairs. Ask whether the person or place is the end point (para) or the reason, the route or the stand-in (por).

• Trabajo para mi padre.I work for my father. (He is my employer.)
• Trabajo por mi padre.I'm working in my father's place. (Or: for his sake.)
• Caminamos para la playa.We walked towards the beach. (More common in Latin America; "hacia la playa" is neutral everywhere.)
• Caminamos por la playa.We walked along the beach.

Many everyday phrases use por or para for historical reasons that no model will reconstruct. Learn them as single words.

The two question words follow the main rule cleanly. "¿Por qué?" asks for a cause and is answered with porque. "¿Para qué?" asks what something is for and is answered with para.

• ¿Por qué estudias chino? Porque me encanta.Why are you studying Chinese? Because I love it.
• ¿Para qué estudias chino? Para trabajar en Shanghái.What are you studying Chinese for? To work in Shanghai.

• NotGracias para tu ayuda.

  ButGracias por tu ayuda.

  You thank someone for what they already did, its cause. Gracias always takes por.

• NotEstudio español por trabajar en México.

  ButEstudio español para trabajar en México.

  "In order to" is para + infinitive. Por + infinitive gives a reason: "because I work in Mexico".

• NotCompré el coche para cinco mil euros.

  ButCompré el coche por cinco mil euros.

  A price is an exchange, so it takes por. Para cannot introduce what you paid.

• NotLa carta fue escrita para mi abuelo.

  ButLa carta fue escrita por mi abuelo.

  The one who did the action in a passive is introduced by por. With para, the grandfather would be the person the letter was written to.

• NotTengo que entregar el trabajo por el viernes.

  ButTengo que entregar el trabajo para el viernes.

  A deadline is the end point a task must reach, so it takes para. "Por el viernes" would be heard as a cause or as a vague time around Friday.

• NotVoy a clase tres veces para semana.

  ButVoy a clase tres veces por semana.

  Rates take por (or a la): "por semana", "por hora", "por persona". Para has no "per" meaning.

Practise these with the tutorwith Pro

Every Spanish sentence you translate or break down in Epsylo shows por and para as words of their own, each explained for the job it does in that sentence: purpose, recipient, cause, exchange or route. Select the word to see why that preposition is there and which other words could have taken its place.

Break down a sentence with por or para

Is it "gracias por" or "gracias para"?

Always "gracias por": you are thanking someone for something that has already happened, its cause. "Gracias por venir", "gracias por todo". "Gracias a" exists too, but it means "thanks to" (gracias a ti, aprobé).

What is the difference between "¿por qué?" and "¿para qué?"

"¿Por qué?" asks for a cause ("why?") and is answered with porque. "¿Para qué?" asks for a purpose ("what for?") and is answered with para + infinitive or para que + subjunctive.

Can I say "por dos años" for duration?

Yes in much of Latin America. In Spain it sounds less natural: people say "durante dos años" or simply "dos años" ("viví dos años en Lima"). Para with a length of time says what something is meant to cover, not how long something lasted: "tengo comida para dos semanas".

Why is it "por la mañana" but "para mañana"?

"Por la mañana" is a part of the day, a stretch of time things happen during. "Para mañana" is a deadline, the point by which something has to be done: "los deberes son para mañana".

Can both por and para be correct in the same sentence?

Often, yes, with different meanings. "Trabajo para mi padre" means he employs me; "trabajo por mi padre" means I am working in his place or for his sake. "Lo hice por ti" and "lo hice para ti" are another such pair.

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