When to use por vs para with practice examples

Today’s post is all about when to use por vs para with practice examples that will give you a better insight on this topic.

Ever since I started teaching, this question has come up over and over again. “When should I use por and when should I use para?!” Indeed, it is not easy to know it, because there is no one direct translation into English. Rather, there are many. In fact, por can be translated into English as ‘for’, ‘by’, ‘through’, ‘via’, while para can be translated into ‘in order to’, ‘for’, ‘into’ and ‘to’ depending on what one wants to say in Portuguese. If you feel confused, don’t panic: I will explain it to you now, and you no longer will have to feel lost about this subject, hopefully. =)

POR

In general, you can use por to speak about a cause or a reason, and to indicate a place through which you or someone else passed by. Let’s see it in more detail in which situations you should use this preposition:

1. To indicate the place or the path through which someone or something passed or went by.

“A Maria foi por esta Avenida” – Maria went through this avenue.

2. With frequency.

“A Mafalda vai ao ginásio duas vezes por semana” – Mafalda goes to the gym twice a week.

3. To explain the way by which something was done.

“Ele bebeu pelo copo” – He drunk through the glass.

4. When you exchange something by something else.

“Eu troquei esta camisola por aquela” – I exchanged this sweater for that one.

5. When you say for how long something happened.

“Ele estacionou ali por trinta minutos” – He parked there for thirty minutes.

6. Indicating the cause for something.

“Ele comeu por obrigação” – He ate because he was obliged (for simple obligation).

7. When you divide or multiply something.

“A Maria dividiu 50 por 2″ – Maria divided 50 by 2.

8. When you are using the passive agent.

“O bolo foi feito pelo João” – The cake was made by João.

Note that sometimes you find pelo in some of the above sentences, instead of the simple version por. This happens when you have to add the article o to the preposition por. Take a look:

Por + o = Pelo                                       Por + os = Pelos

Por + a = Pela                                     Por + as = Pelas

Do you get it?

So, for example, if you want to say:

a) A bolacha foi comida _________ Maria.

Knowing that Maria is feminine, and you need to add the article a. How would you do that?

What about the following?

b) O pão foi comido _______ Tomás.

Try to solve these two exercises and I will reveal the answers towards the end of this article 😉

PARA

Para can be used in general to indicate the direction or the purpose for doing something. Let us take a closer look at the situations when para is used:

1. To indicate the purpose of something

“Este saco é para as compras” – This bag is meant for shopping.

2. To indicate the recipient of something

“Esta carta é para ti” – This letter is for you.

3. To indicate the destination of something

“Este avião vai para Moçambique” – This plane goes to Mozambique (Wanna know more about Mozambique?)

4. To indicate your personal opinion

“Para mim, isto não está bom” – To me/ In my opinion, this is not good.

5. To indicate a determined time

“Tenho férias marcadas para Agosto” – I have my holidays scheduled for August.

Just like with por, para can be used differently. We can say “Amanhã vou prá praia”. We do something like:

Para + o = Pró                                       Para + os = Prós

Para + a = Prá                                    Para + as = Prás

However, unlike por, with which we can and should use the contracted forms “pelo, pela, pelos, pelas” like we have seen above, with para we can only use these contracted forms in oral communication, in everyday life.

Just an addition: “Obrigado/a por” means thank you for! Many people have been asking me this. This is kind of an expression and you always use por.

 

Ok, should we try to do some exercises now? What would you use in the following cases?

Por ou Para?

c) Este bolo é __________ ti.

d) Vou viajar __________ o Porto.

e) O avião vai __________ Caracas.

f) O autocarro passa _______ avenida.

g) Eu quero trocar as calças ________ camisa.

h) Eu fiquei lá ________ 30 minutos.

i) O trabalho foi feito ______ todos.

j) Eu como _______ este prato.

k) Ela dividiu 100 ______ 7.

l) Este quarto é _______ 2 pessoas.

m) _______mim, é muito pequeno.

n) Tenho consulta marcada _______ as dez da manhã.

What do you think? Can you solve the exercises? Give it a try and look a bit further to see the results.

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Solutions for the exercises above:

a) A bolacha foi comida __pela_______ Maria.

b) O pão foi comido ___pelo____ Tomás

c) Este bolo é ___para_______ ti.

d) Vou viajar ___para_______ o Porto.

e) O avião vai _____para_____ Caracas.

f) O autocarro passa ___pela____ avenida.

g) Eu quero trocar as calças ____pela____ camisa.

h) Eu fiquei lá ___por_____ 30 minutos.

i) O trabalho foi feito ___por___ todos.

j) Eu como ___por____ este prato.

k) Ela dividiu 100 __por____ 7.

l) Este quarto é __para_____ 2 pessoas.

m) __Para_____mim, é muito pequeno.

n) Tenho consulta marcada __para_____ as dez da manhã.

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If you got the answers right, well done!

If not, try to go through the rules again and do it once more 😉 If you have any questions about these exercises or anything else related to this topic, please feel free to contact me by leaving me a message. I will try to answer as fast as I can.

Thank you and beijinhos,

Mia