Derek Bristow
Para and por, and translations for sentences. 1 Dicen que el nuevo edificio estará terminado para-por finales delaño próximo. Can para and por both be used? why? 2. El Barcelona ha ganado al Real Madrid por dos a cero. What does por mean here? "by" 3. Tenemos que comprar otra bicicleta nueva para-por las vacaciones. Can para and por both be used? I knew that para refers to purposes, por refers to reasons. But in this sentence, las vacaciones can be the purpose and the reason to buy a new bike, right? I am a little confused here. 4. Me costó trabajo entrar, y cuando por fin entré, no había nadie. What does this sentence mean?
Aug 31, 2015 3:12 PM
Answers · 7
2
Derek, when it comes to 'para' and 'por', don't think about English translations -- it's like nailing Jell-O to a wall. Instead, visualize what these prepositions represent in terms of movement and position in space: 'Para' is movement from point A to point B. For example, 'Este regalo es para tí', or, 'Voy para la casa'. 'Por' represents movement through a conduit, such as street, tunnel, path, or even through time. For example, 'Camino por la calle', 'Manejo por el túnel', 'Corro por el lago', or 'Estaba en México por dos días'. Even the phrase 'por favor' represents movement through a conduit, albeit abstract. When I say 'please', I'm asking you to do it via the "favor route". I have created an actual visualization of this on my blog which you can see here: http://www.tonymarshmethod.com/blog/2014/12/12/por-and-para-solved
August 31, 2015
Thanks a lot, Sergio. You translated all of them for me~~~Best wishes from China. I guess I'll have lots of questions in the future, please do leave me a message here when you are convenient.
September 2, 2015
1- They say that the new building would be finished at the end of the next year. (You should use "para finales del próximo año") 2- Barcelona won against Real Madrid 2 by 0 "Por" here means "by" It can be used to compare things or to multiply numbers 3- We must buy a new bike for the vacations You must use "para" here if you want to say for the vacations (because you want to use it on vacations) You must use "por" here if you want to say for the vacations (because the reason that you buy a bike is that vacations are coming) 4- It was difficult to enter for me and when I finally did it there were no one. Hope this can be useful for you!
September 1, 2015
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