How does one say “for” in Spanish? Simple question, huh?

Not really. In fact, this is one of the most difficult problems that many Spanish students face.
The problem is that two Spanish prepositions, “por and para”, are frequently used for the English word “for.” The following chart shows some of the major uses of these two prepositions:
Uses for por: Expressing movement along, through, around, by or about: Anduve por las calles de la ciudad. I walked through the streets of the city. Denoting a time or duration when something occurs: Viajamos por tres semanas. We’re traveling for three weeks. Expressing the cause (not the purpose) of an action: Me caí por la nieve. I fell down because of the snow. Meaning per: Dos por ciento.Two percent. Meaning supporting or in favor of: Trabajamos por derechos humanos. We work for human rights. Introducing the agent of an action after a passive verb: Fue escrito por Bob Woodward. It was written by Bob Woodward.Indicating means of transportation: Viajaré por avión. I will travel by plane. Used in numerous expressions: Por ejemplo. For example. Por favor. Please.
Uses for para: Meaning for the purpose of or in order to: Para bailar la bamba, necesita una poca de gracia. In order to dance the bamba you need a bit of grace. With a noun or pronoun as object, meaning for the benefit of or directed to: Es para usted. It’s for you. Meaning to or in the direction of when referring to a specific place: Voy para Europa. I’m heading to Europe. Meaning by or for when referring to a specific time: Necesito el regalo para mañana. I need the gift for tomorrow.

Here are some useful words that can help you communicate anytime, anywhere!

El edificio de oficinas (office building) / la esquina (the corner) / el letrero (street sign)/ el semáforo (traffic light) / la vía peatonal (crosswalk) / el edificio (building) / la panadería (bakery) / la oficina de correos (post office) / la parada de autobuses (bus stop) / el cruce (intersection) / el ascensor (elevator).

Comparisons

Types of Comparisons We can say that someone (or something) is “bigger”, “prettier”, “better”, “more interesting”, etc. than someone or something else. Notice that in English we add “-er” to an adjective in some cases, but in others, we say “more”. In general, when the adjective is more than two syllables long we use “more” rather than adding “-er”. There is no ending such as “-er” in Spanish. We simply use “más” (more).

There are just a few exceptions, such as mejor (better), mayor (older), peor (worse), and menor (younger). Here are some of the exceptions for the comparison of adjectives.

good/ bueno – better /mejor – bad /malo – worse / peor – old /Viejo – older / mayor – young / joven – younger / menor

Examples: Este libro es bueno / This book is good. – Este libro es mejor que el otro / This book is better than the other one.

Possessive determiners

Possessive determiners are a type of adjective, the equivalent of such English words as “my” and “your.” Like other adjectives, they need to match the noun they refer to in number and gender. Here are the possessive determiners of Spanish along with a sample sentence for each:

* Mi, mis (my, mine): Mi gato es muy grande. My cat is very big.
* Tu, tus (your): ¡Tus hijas y yo te necesitamos! Your daughters and I need you!
* Su, sus (your, his, her, their): Su casa es su mayor inversión. Your (his, her, their) house is your (his, her their) major investment.
* Nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras (our): Nuestros amigos vienen a la fiesta. Our frinds are coming to the party.
Sometimes, you can also use the expresion “de él” or “de ella” meaning “his” or “her”.

For example, if “su libro” (“his, her, your or their book”) would be ambiguous, we could say “el libro de él” or “el libro de ella” (“his book” or “her book”).

Other examples:

* mío, mía, míos, mías (my, mine) El auto rojo es mío/ The red car is mine.
* tuyo, tuya, tuyos, tuyas (your, yours) El cuaderno rayado es tuyo / The notebook is yours.
* suyo, suya, suyos, suyas (their, yours) ¿El lápiz en el piso es suyo? / The pencil on the floor is yours?
* nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras (our, ours) Las sillas son nuestras / The chairs are ours.

CAPITALIZATION

Spanish uses significantly fewer capital letters than does English. Whenever Spanish capitalizes a word, the corresponding word in English is capitalized, but the opposite is far from true. There are numerous instances where English capitalizes that Spanish does not.What Spanish does capitalize are proper names for people, places, newspapers and magazines; abbreviations of personal titles such as Dr., the equivalent of the English “Dr.,” and Sr., the equivalent of “Mr.”; and the first word in the titles of books, plays, movies and similar works.

Here are the most common cases where English capitalizes that Spanish does not:

Calendar: Names of the days of the week and months of the year use lower-case letters. Hoy es martes. (Today is Tuesday.) México celebra su independencia el 16 de septiembre. (Mexico celebrates its independence on September 16.)

Composition titles: In formal written Spanish, titles of movies, books, plays and similar works capitalize only the first word and proper nouns. La guerra de las galaxias (“Star Wars”), Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”) Note: In informal written Spanish, and on book covers and movie posters, it is not unusual to see such composition titles capitalized as in English.

Personal titles: Introductory titles are not capitalized, although common abbreviations of them (such as Sr. for señor, Dr. for doctor, D. for don and Srta. for señorita) are. ¿Conoces a la señora Wilson? (Do you know Mrs. Wilson?) ¿Conoces a la Sra. Wilson? (Do you know Mrs. Wilson?) La reina Victoria fue mi abuela. (Queen Victoria was my grandmother.)

Religions: Names of religions and their adherents aren’t capitalized. Mi madre es católica. (My mother is Catholic.) Estudio el cristianismo. (I’m studying Christianity.)

Ordinal numbers: When an ordinal number is used after a name, it isn’t capitalized. Luis catorce (Luis the Fourteenth), Carlos octavo (Charles the Eighth)

Place names: Although the given name of rivers, lakes, mountains and other geographic features are capitalized, the place identifier is not. No vimos el río Amazonas. (We didn’t see the Amazon River.) Vivimos cerca de la montaña Rainier. (We live near Mount Rainier.)

Nationality: Although names of countries and cities are capitalized, words derived from them are not. Soy inglés. (I’m English.) Prefiero los cocos puertorriqueños. (I prefer the Puerto Rican coconuts.)

Languages: Names of languages aren’t capitalized. Hablo inglés. (I speak English.) Quiero estudiar alemán. (I want to study German.)