The prepositions por and para are apparently, along with the verbs ser and estar, one of the most confusing aspects of the grammar for Spanish students. There are different ways to differentiate when to use one and when to use the other. In this lesson, we will learn the general idea of the use of these prepositions.
Let's begin with taking a look at the following sentences:
La carretera está cortada por la nieve.
The road is cut off by snow.
La carretera está cortada para el paso del desfile.The road is cut off for the passing of the parade.
In the first sentence, we use por because there's a cause of why the road is cut off. In the second sentence, we use para because there's a goal or an aim of why the road is cut, which is the passing of the parade.
That's the general idea of the use of por or para in a sentence.
Expresses the cause or the reason why we do something. We can represent this idea as:
Let's begin with taking a look at the following sentences:
La carretera está cortada por la nieve.
The road is cut off by snow.
La carretera está cortada para el paso del desfile.The road is cut off for the passing of the parade.
In the first sentence, we use por because there's a cause of why the road is cut off. In the second sentence, we use para because there's a goal or an aim of why the road is cut, which is the passing of the parade.
That's the general idea of the use of por or para in a sentence.
POR
Expresses the cause or the reason why we do something. We can represent this idea as:
| CAUSE or REASON -----> ACTION |