Quick PSA: I am currently writing a chapter on Spanish prepositions that should be out soon. These are general prepositions that are the same kind we use in English. However, the chapter is very time-consuming as I have to know all the main ones used in Spanish and do a heck ton of research. In the meantime, I'd like to talk about these specific prepositions since they give Spanish students a lot of trouble.
Por and para are two prepositions that have the same meaning but give a world of trouble to any new Spanish learners out there. Both can be translated as meaning for, but there are other times you use por and para when we don't use the word for in English. In addition to that, each time you want to use for as a preposition, you also have to choose which preposition to use in the first place. These can be tricky to grasp, but just like ser and estar, if we think of words in terms of the ideas or objects they represent, it makes everything much easier.
Por is used to mean by if you're talking about the author of a book, movie, article, etc. For example, I have my device display set to Spanish, so if I opened a book on Wattpad by Ellie it would say "por DarkPH0T0N".
There are other ways to use por and para to mean prepositional phrases, but most of the time you can just use an alternative method of writing the sentence. Here are the ways por and para are used. Some grammatical rules may be unfamiliar here, but that's okay. We'll cover them in lessons to come.
Por:
Three Cats Eat Dry Milk.
Acronyms helped me to learn ser and estar. However, because almost all of these letters are consonants, I used the strategy of mnemonic devices, in which each letter stands for a time when you use por.
Three: Travel. Ex: Fui por Francia ｜I went through France.
(Notice how this is a time when you would say por to mean through rather than for. As you'll see when I release my chapter over prepositions, there are other ways to say through in Spanish. Just you wait.)
Cats: Communication. Ex: La llamé por telefóno. ｜I called her by phone.
Eat: Exchanges. Ex: Yo compré dos gatos por diez dolóres. ｜I bought two cats for ten dollars.
Dry: Duration. Ex: Fui al Estados Unidos por dos semanas. ｜I went to the United States for two weeks.
Milk: Motivation. Ex: Por Él me amo, puedo vivir. ｜Because he loves me, I can live.
NOTE: Motivation is VERY close to how para is used to indicate purpose! However, they are not the same thing. Think of purpose vs. motivation as purpose being to achieve a goal. If there is no goal to be achieved, use por. If there is, use para.
Para:
Dead Rats Don't Gallop.
Dead: Destinations. Ex: Voy a salir para Chile mañana. ｜I am going to leave for Chile tomorrow.
Rats: Recipients. Ex: Este capítulo es para Arkada. ｜This chapter is for Arkada.
Don't: Deadlines. Ex: Tengo que dar esto para hoy. ｜I have to give this by today.
Gallop: Goals. Ex: Yo corro para mi salud. ｜I run for my health.
The conceptual difference between por and para is "travel" vs. "destination", but just like "ser" and estar"'s rule of "temporary vs. permanent", this rule is vague and has many exceptions. I find these acronyms to be far more useful.
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