POR vs PARA - 1 Must-Know Rule!

In this video, you'll learn about the Spanish prepositions por vs para.
Specifically, you'll learn about one use of por and para that tends to be the hardest for students to understand and use.
In general, we can use por and para in a number of different ways. But, there are some uses of por and para that students know and use really well.
This video will avoid the easier uses of por and para in order to focus on the use of por and para that is more challenge. The reason for this is that if students can learn how to master this challenging use then they will definitely be able to master all of the other uses of por and para.
Here is a quick preview of what you’ll learn:
An overview of the challenge area with por vs para
How to think about por vs para differently
How to use por and para in 5 useful examples
Por vs Para: 12 Must-Know Uses & 1 Essential Hack:
www.realfastsp...
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[@realfastspanish]

What are some other sentences you can come up with for por and para about motivation?

[@ericbaugher]

Ok, I am back fresh from playing on duo lingo. I wrote down uses of por and para. I listened to the video again and then read your comment. As I watched the video again I understand more clearly that this rule only applies in certain contexts. I noticed in my duo lingo lessons the example sentences also don't translate into for. I am going to use the abbreviation NA for not applicable where I think the rule you are teaching us does not apply well. Perhaps some of these examples might become topics of future videos. 1-NA: Van para esas islas hoy 2-NA: El turista sale para Peru 3-NA: Vas para la cathedral. 4-NA: Estuve en Mexico por un mes. 5: Sin duda estabamos preocupados por el. Looks like the rule applies only to example number five. Interesting in English we say worrying "because of" him, or even better "worried about him". We would not say worrying for him. An interesting and thought provoking little lesson indeed. One that merits watching more than once, for slow learners to get the idea. So still a confusing topic but now that it is becoming more clear to me when this rule does and does not apply I guess it helps. Little words are so easy to say that I guess languages like to give them many different meanings.

[@georgeturner9110]

if I'm going to med school to please my parents ... para?

[@soyelunator98]

Para ayudar a ella, hemos luchado por sus derechos

[@spikefivefivefive]

"Hago compras por ti." -- I'm shopping for you. I'm doing your shopping for you. I'm shopping in your stead. "Hago compras para ti." - I'm shopping for you. I'm buying something for you.

[@IndigenistVoices]

Thank you for this video, no wonder Spanish has always been called "the Language of God".

[@donaldkidd9079]

That was a terrific explanation of a difficult concept by a gifted teacher. I appreciate the repetition of the perfect (I think!) pronunciation of the Spanish example sentences used to explain the concept. Thank you!

[@realfastspanish]

I'm glad it was helpful! 😊

[@waynenoel4670]

Very clearly explained.😊

[@phoebeg3010]

Gracias por la explicación, es un vídeo perfecto para mis estudiantes de español 👏🏼

[@realfastspanish]

¡Gracias Phoebe! 😊

[@MusicWordMusic]

Great rule. I'm always appreciative when someone can come up with a guiding paradigm rather than lists of categories or rules with exceptions. Bravo.

[@lukeehly9472]

Words cannot comprehend how much I have had trouble with this concept in Spanish. Now that I have found your channel, I don't think I need another teacher other than you now. This was so easy to understand, I became so joyous when it finally clicked! Thank you for your content!

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks for the kind words Luke! 🙏

[@willharris8302]

I have asked multiple native spanish speakers this exact thing, and they never had a good answer. This video is brilliant. Thank you!

[@alejandrojoselizano]

When you are a native speaker of a language you don´t know the grammar rules of a sentences or a word you just know that it sounds weird when it is not properly used.

[@MusicBoxAlsoWater]

You are a great teacher! I really appreciate these videos. You teach in a way that other youtubers and real life teachers haven't been able to teach me. You're a gem!

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks for the kind words!! 😊

[@MattGerhardt-no6ig]

Pensía que supe todas las reglas de por y para hasta que vi este video. Cada vez veo uno de tus videos, aprendo algo. Gracias por tus clases informativas.

[@barbensutile7901]

Gracias por haber hecho este video para nosotros.

[@johnvale127]

I have watched several videos, and some of them were more than an hour long! I understood them all, please don’t get me wrong. But your explanation reached and stayed in my brain instantly! Thank you!

[@billchamberlin1569]

Great explanation, but: After the 14:15 minute marker, you repeatedly use the phrases "por and para" and "directly and indirectly". It would be clearer if the sequences matched one another; por -> indirectly and para -> directly.

[@travisleintz7735]

¡Muchas gracias POR su video! Este es el mejor video que he visto de este tema. Su video me ha ayudado PARA entender más español.

[@jorgepaulet8739]

Excelente, amigo. Sigue así. Te deseo lo mejor.

[@mim4372]

This is really helpful! You are a brilliant teacher 🙌🏼

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks for the kind words Marieke 😊

[@kenschroeppel3128]

Ya supe cómo usar "para + infinitivo" = "in order to... verb" y "por + infinitivo" = "because of... verb" --- pero, ahora me doy cuenta de que este concepto es también lo mismo sin el infinitivo. !Gracias, Andrew!

[@kcs1600]

Yes please! Another video with more examples would be very much appreciated. This one helped a huge amount... Now it's just a matter of hearing multiple examples to trigger & embed it into our long term memory✨ Thanks so much✨

[@pattybowden506]

I am older and just learning Spanish. Thank you for this channel. I can already tell it is helping.

[@shirleywilliamswoodger1773]

Oh my gosh!! Thank you so much! That is exactly the issue I had with por and para. I have only discovered your channel today. I love your short videos and the explanations in English, but I also like hearing you speak Spanish. Thank you so much.

[@misstango1001]

I learn so much more in any of your videos than four years of studying Spanish in high school in America. Thank you

[@MsTessG]

Pure billiance! This explains it better than any other resource I've found! Thank you!

[@markdonovan1540]

Para mi, todo está muy claro por tus explicaciones geniales.

[@judyhodgins3991]

Muchas gracias por la lección. Fue una explanacion fantastica. Por favor hace más en esta tema.

[@yongyutang2453]

I’ve studied Spanish off and on for many years and this video is the best explanation I’ve ever heard for por and para. Thank you so much.

[@juanjande8185]

Por y Para leccion fue incredible. El beneficio directo e indirecto tiene sentido. Gracias POR su ayuada, Por favor haga mas sobre Por y Para. Juan

[@eyesauron]

This is brilliant i am going to use this to teach my friend that are interested in learning spanish

[@mttartaruga]

These videos never get old and are always useful. Thanks for breaking down some of the reasons "why" instead of telling students to memorize a list.

[@antho99y]

Gracias por tu ayuda con por y para. Ahora entiendo cada palabra mejor.

[@Randomkid324]

This explanation nailed it down perfectly for me. It was like a light bulb went on and stayed on in my head. Brilliant! Thank you!

[@paulsheen8646]

Brilliant video Andrew, I finally think that I understand the relationship and use of these two words in Spanish. Keep up the excellent work and let us have some more of your videos 👍

[@pegross8652]

This is the best explanation of the difference between por and para I have seen. Thank you so much!

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks Peg, I’m glad it helped! 😊

[@KENENDTER]

This was very helpful as I'm starting to learn Spanish

[@BattleshipBob]

This was so enlightening and made this nightmare so easy. Thank you!

[@aprilshowers9363]

This is the first time that I have fully understood the difference, so thank you so much!

[@lolymireles1268]

I love your videos, and I assign them to my students. You are so clear, and you have great examples!!!

[@misstango1001]

I will watch the Por and para Over and over. Yes please continue with more Por and Para. Thank you. You’re the. Best!!

[@horstwassermann5957]

gracias por ayudarme a entender mejor el para y el por.

[@erickim2052]

Great insight! This video clearly shows that not all the teachers have the same level of insight! Thanks.

[@rogerwallach214]

Excellent way to give an intuitive feel for the difference! (I've had my ways of getting it mostly right, such as thinking of "por" as "because of" or "on behalf of" and, more distantly, in it's other use a "by." But you have undergirded the difference with a .) Thanks. Another preposition that I would like some help with, is the surprising (for a native English speaker) use of "con" in "soñar con" and "contar con" - and any other surprising uses of "con."

[@ahicks414]

Been trying to learn more Spanish for the past 50 years. Thank you for your channel! I've noticed on my own that PARA often is used when it's about a living thing usually a human, and POR is used for inanimate objects. Even if that's usually true, I realize now I oversimplified it. And I've seen examples where it's not accurate. So thank you for this video and any others that help us "conquer" POR & PARA.🙂

[@Georgia-b5u]

This is the best explanation I’ve ever found- thank you!

[@toddjermstad5330]

This is one of the very best instructional programs for learning Spanish. I just recently came across this and wish that I had come across this earlier in my study of Spanish. I would very much like to see more instruction on por and para.

[@jorgepaulet8739]

Gracias por el esfuerzo y las ganas que pones para enseñar español.

[@smoothedblock8553]

Sir..... I am 37 and recently started trying to learn Spanish. I did take Spanish in High School, but haven't used it at all since. Your videos (like this one) are so very helpful...... but they make me feel like my brain breaks in half while figuring it out. Lol. Thank you.

[@mellorenzfullon5724]

This is the best explanation for Por y Para that i have ever watched on youtube. Muchísimas gracias, señor 😇

[@anitaahr2949]

this rlly helped cuz i always struggle in class to figure out if its para or por

[@jeandavison3112]

Absolutely brilliant Andrew you make the difficult understandable for which we are all grateful and yes please cover more por and para topics.

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks Jean 😊

[@cjmedia6043]

THIS IS AWESOME!! I can run with that. Got it and gone. Thank You Much!!! 🎉

[@paulodonnell3659]

Thank you for the explanation and it's clarity Andrew, I am very recently retired and learning Spanish and really appreciating your videos, muchas gracias amigo.

[@theheirophant7113]

On our travels though Spain, we like to acknowledge when the locals help us out with their English. My wife & I often say: Gracias por hablar inglés para mí, which uses both por & para. It's always appreciated.

[@jupitersgrl]

I really enjoyed your review of por y para and I would like to go in deeper too. Thanks for this lesson.

[@donnprivate8090]

This one video clarified so many confusions I had with por and para

[@khalilghosn5467]

very interesting...I'd like another lesson on the same topic, but in different situations

[@jamesfreese4700]

Great breakdown of por vs para-keep the videos coming!!!!

[@silvestrenet]

I'm a native spanish speaker and this video partly solve mi concern, just because in english you use the word: for, per,and by to mean "para" or "por" and sometimes i have to try guessing which word, i had to use in english.

[@imanybanez]

GRACIAS MAESTRO I FINALLY UNDERSTOOD IT

[@francoismarie9062]

Thank you teacher to try to explain us this quite complicate case, I think it must be difficult even for the spanish people. Anyway I begin to understand the difference between por and para. Muchas gracias!

[@Gredran]

Perfect explanation. It’s finally clicking so much more for real

[@DameFairy]

OH MY GOD! you're such a BRIALLIANT teacher!! I just started learning Spanich by myself about 3 weeks ago and "para" & "por" knocked me off the edge. I've been reading articles and watching a lot of videos, they are good but you are GREAT! my light bulb went off too! I'll hit subscribe after finishing this. Muchas gracias!

[@rolleshabanfhar1025]

Thank you very much for your wonderfull explanations

[@brianclark7494]

This was really helpful. I would translate the sentence “he does everything for and because of her”

[@ramoncornejo2359]

Soy hablante nativo de español y por pura casualidad vine a dar con este video, y la verdad, estoy muy sorprendido al saber que dos palabras cuyo uso es tan cotidiano para mi y todos los hispanohablantes, sea motivo de tanta confusión para los estudiantes de español. Pero afortunadamente para los estudiantes, el profesor ha explicado muy bien el uso de ambas palabras.

[@craigbernthal7388]

This was a big help. I've been over this topic many times, and I've taken some very bad quizzes that just override the complexity of the questions being posed by giving just "por" or "para," i.e., bad instruction. So thanks for this. Tus ejemplos fueron excelentes.

[@caydo9959]

one of the best videos ive seen on this topic. well done mate

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks for the feedback! 😊

[@HoangNguyen-gm5vo]

Thank you so much for the spectacular lesson!!!

[@joho9815]

This is the best instruction I've ever heard on this topic. Excellent! I subscribed! Reed

[@pamelarockwell6992]

Incredibly helpful! Thank you so much!

[@angelakurthausen2087]

Excellent class thank you. These examples are super helpful. More on this topic please.

[@billbierds7554]

Gracias por esta lección!!!!

[@kane1940]

I thought spanish prepositions were easier than English, because English prepositions are very sofisticated. For example: "in, at, on" are "en" in spanish. We have problems to use(¿for using?) "for" and "to". So don't despair about that. There several more difficult things in Spanish than "por/para". And thanks for this excellent video.

[@salemyousef682]

Thank you so much I learned something new today

[@rileystewart9165]

You are helping me achieve my Spanish goals, Great channel!

[@barrycooper9248]

One of your best, very well explain, thank you.

[@danielleboudreau2721]

You are an amazing teacher! It’s so clear with you. Please, make other videos with the use of Por and Para

[@johnjoiner2635]

Andrew, después de ver muchos vídeos sobre por and para, puedo decir que este vídeo es el que tiene más sentido. Gracias por su ayuda. Me ayudó a mejorar mi comprensión de este complicado tema. John

[@patrikavaughn966]

Tes, please do additional videos on this complex topic

[@gloriousepochquotes1713]

Enlightening explanation! ❤ This is somewhat how I was interpreting por and Para, but this puts it in plain language.

[@XmisterIS]

Muchas gracias, fue muy utíl para mi!

[@debbiegehl1562]

Feliz año nuevo. Te deseo amor y prosperidad, salud y felicidad, Andrew. Muchas gracias Andrew por la clara y excelente explicación entre las preposiciones por y para.> Me gustaría ver más videos sobre esta tema, por favor. Erés un maravilloso generoso profesor de español.

[@lilybailes5243]

the best video I've seen on por and para so far! super helpful! thank you!

[@SH-zr4sp]

Andrew, your videos are just superb!! A huge thank you!!

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks for the kind words!!! 😊

[@mariaf1915]

You're a very good teacher. This was the best explanation I got so far, although my mother tongue is German.

[@vincejunior280]

Gracias por esta leccion!

[@dennishagen8867]

Very thought provoking approach to por/para and motivation!

[@monaoconnell5650]

Good job. Thank you. I hope we hear more. You are a good teacher.

[@originaldanman]

This is interesting, I've never heard anyone say this before, but I just figured this out the other day with different words, can't remember what they are right now, but I do think it will help. Thanks

[@mistersaintjohn]

¡Muchas gracias Andrew! I really enjoy your videos! I like that you explain the concepts in English and then give Spanish examples. There are many other KZbinrs who explain everything in Spanish, which is great for learning also, but I find it more effective and efficient, for me, to comprehend the concept/rule in English first and then be able to apply it to Spanish. It saves a lot of time and head-scratching for the logistics to be explained in English. Keep it up!

[@argonaut3001]

Excellent. The best explanation I've heard. Looking forward to getting deeper into it once I'm secure with that, para aprendar mas efectivamiente

[@roozbehansari4654]

Gracias por tus maravillosas lecciones 😏

[@elainaleeh1]

Andrew, eres un maestro extraordinario.

[@zulkiflijamil4033]

¡Hola Maestro!. Para mi, es interesante. Muchas gracias.

[@nehakarekar9110]

Great sir I got my concept clear

[@ronjames-music]

This video is amazing! It cleared up a lot of my confusion regarding por and para. Thank you!

[@markreed7377]

Another good phraise to highlight the difference in motivation is often seen in shop windows. It's Estamos cerrado por las vac iones or maybe para las vacaciones. They may be closed in order for the owners to have a holiday (para) or because they have to shut because its a national holiday (por), Similar situation if the shop is having works done, maybe to improve the shop or to repair after a fire. Por or para las obras.

[@DavidBee]

Por cierto, veo a tus videos para mejorar mi espanol! Gracias!

[@DrMott]

Me ayudaste! Muchas gracias!

[@cathybroadus4411]

Outstanding, I love a road map!

[@leecorbien7671]

Thank you, Andrew: your explanations are clear and understandable. Further videos on 'por' and 'para' in their divers contexts would be great.

[@teriemaybe]

I binged watched all your videos and I have nothing to watch. Please upload moooore you are very good at explaining. Please make a video about the indirect and direct objects too :)

[@believeinpeace]

You are the best! ¡Muchas Gracias!

[@SimplySpanishCentre]

When you started talking abut la casa de papel i got chills lol. That scene is awesome. But it also clicked perfectly. Great stuff.

[@mjperfume1523]

Please do a video for por y para, About going thru the street and going under the bridge. Muchas gracias I always get mixed up when it comes to these situations🙏