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- Inexact location in time or space:
- Trabajamos por la mañana.
- Por allí hay unos libros.
- There are some books over there.
- Pensamos viajar por el este del país.
- We intend to travel through (around) the country.
- Por aquellos días había menos de cien habitantes.
- In those days, there were fewer than 100 inhabitants.
- During a period of time (often omitted):
- Tengo que trabajar (por) cuatro horas hoy.
- I have to work for four hours today.
- In exchange for, as a substitute for:
- Te doy diez dólares por esa corbata.
- I'll give you ten dollars for that necktie.
- Estoy enfermo. ¿Puedes dar la clase por mí?
- I'm sick. Can you teach the class for me?
- Per, at the rate of :
- Trabajo cuarenta horas por semana.
- I work forty hours per week.
- Due to, because of, as punishment for:
- ¿Por qué no vas con ellas?
- Why aren't you going with them?
- Riñen a Natalia por llegar tarde.
- They scold Natalia for arriving late.
- No tengo coche. Por esa razón, tomo el autobús. I don't have a car.
- For that reason, I take the bus.
- Por ser extranjero, yo sé muy poco de esta cultura.
- Because I'm a foreigner, I know very little about this culture.
- In support of, in favor of, for the sake of:
- ¿Por quién piensas votar?
- For whom do you intend to vote?
- Estamos por cancelar el partido.
- We are for (in favor of) canceling the game.
- Rezan por las víctimas de la hambruna.
- They pray for the victims of the famine.
- By means of, through:
- Vamos por tren.
- Pasa por esa puerta.
- After ir, venir, enviar, etc. before the object of an errand:
- Héctor, ve por leche, por favor.
- Hector, go for (go get) milk, please.
- Vine por ti.
- I came for you (to pick you up).
- Judging from...:
- A juzgar por lo que tú has dicho...
- Judging from what you've told me...
- Por lo visto es así.
- Apparently (it appears that) that is so.
- Before infinitive, meaning yet to be done (sin is sometimes used instead):
- Hay mucho trabajo por hacer.
- There's a lot of work to do.
- By, referring to agency, authorship:
- El amor en los tiempos del cólera, por Gabriel García Márquez.
- Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel García Márquez
- Esas reglas fueron establecidas por el comité.
- Those rules were established by the committee.
- In concessive construction (no matter how...):
- Lo tienes que hacer, por desagradable que sea.
- You have to do it, no matter how disagreeable it may be.
- No los escuches, por mucho que se quejen.
- Don't listen to them, however much they complain.
- In multiplication operations, dimensions (by, times):
- 7 por 5 son 35.
- El cuarto mide 13 por 10.
- The room measures 13 by 10.
- After certain verbs; some examples:
- Acabar por (to wind up ___ing): Acabó por aceptar (acabó aceptando) la teoría.
- We wound up accepting the theory.
- Mirar por (to look out for): Hay que mirar por tus amigos.
- You have to look out for your friends.
- Optar por (to opt for, choose to): Optamos por quedarnos en casa.
- We chose to stay at home.
- Preguntar por (to ask/inquire about): No me preguntes por cosas así.
- Don't ask me about things like that.
- Tomar por (to take one for): No me tomes por enemigo.
- Don't take me for an enemy.
- Note: No preposition is used after buscar, pedir to mean look / ask for:
- Buscan sus maletas. They are looking for their backpacks.
- Le voy a pedir un lápiz. I'm going to ask him for a pencil.
- In numerous idiomatic expressions; examples:
- por ahora (for now); ¡Por Dios! (My goodness!); por esto, por eso (therefore); por escrito (in writing); por favor (please); por fin (finally); por lo menos (at least); por supuesto (of course)
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- Goal, purpose, function:
- Fui a España para aprender español.
- I went to Spain to learn Spanish.
- Es una botella para vino.
- It's a wine bottle (bottle designed for wine)..
- ¿Para qué sirve este chisme?
- Suitability, congruity (Considering that...):
- Para extranjero, habla muy bien la lengua.
- For a foreigner, he speaks the language very well.
- Para lo buena que es la comida, ese restaurante cobra muy poco.
- Considering how good the food it, that restaurant charges very little.
- Destination, object, beneficiary, etc.:
- Estos regalos son para mis primos.
- These presents are for my cousins.
- Salimos para la Argentina el viernes.
- We are leaving for Argentina on Friday.
- Vamos a dejar eso para la próxima reunión.
- Let's leave that for the next meeting.
- ¿Para qué compañía trabajas?
- What company do you work for?
- Tenemos cuartos para seis personas, y comida suficiente para una semana.
- We have rooms for six persons, and enough food for a week.
- From (one's) perspective; to (one's) (dis)advantage:
- Para Luisa, eso no es nada difícil.
- For Luisa, that's not hard at all.
- Esa no es la mejor solución para nosotros.
- That's not the best solution for us.
- With estar (to be about to...) (in Latin American, por is used instead):
- By (a deadline):
- Entreguen Uds. el informe para el día tres de febrero.
- Turn the report in by February 3.
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