Love-Spanish.com: Tell Me, How Long Will That Homework Take You?

SCENARIO

Imagine you are with a relative, a friend or a colleague. Maybe you are talking about studying Spanish and the amount of time you dedicate to that activity. You show him/ her some homework and he/ she wants to know how long it takes you to do it. He/ she may say to you something like: "tell me, how long will that homework take you?".

In Spanish, he/ she could choose to be less formal and say to you:

Dime, ¿con esos deberes para cuanto tiempo tienes?

On the other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say to you:

Dígame, ¿con esos deberes para cuanto tiempo tiene (usted)?

OUR TIP

The question is an invitation for you to say how long it takes to have the homework completed. When you say how long it will take you to complete this homework, you DO NOT need to be concerned about the level of formality in the other person's question. Your main concern should be about communicating the length of time. Perhaps what you want to say is that:

It takes you a specific length of time;
It takes you an approximate length of time;
You don't really know long it will take you;

Here are some examples of what you could say and practise the use of “para”:

Con estos deberes tengo para dos horas** (this homework will take me two hours);
Con estos deberes tengo para dos horas mas o menos** (this homework will take me two hours more or less);
Con estos deberes no tengo para mucho tiempo** (this homework will not take me very long);
Con estos deberes no sé para cuanto tiempo tengo** (I don't know how long this homework will take me);

Now you should practise further the use of “para” by replying to someone who says to you:

Dime, ¿con esos deberes para cuanto tiempo tienes?

**Please see grammar below

Grammar-”PARA”

The use of “para” and “por” often causes some confusion amongst learners of Spanish. This blog posts deals with the uses of “para”. A separate series of blog posts is dedicated to the uses of “por”.

In this post we look at a number of situations in which “para” is commonly used. “Para” is commonly used in the following cases:

1. Objective

In Spanish, “para” is often used before an infinitive used to express the objective of the action of a verb. In such cases, the meaning of “para” is something like “in order to... “.

For example:

Estudio español para poder hablarlo (I study Spanish in order to be able to speak it);
Tienes que comer menos para adelgazar (you have to eat less in order to loose weight);
Pedro va al gimnasio para mantenerse en forma (Pedro goes to the gym in order to keep fit);

2. Purpose

In Spanish, “para” is often used with verbs such as “ser”/ “estar” to express the purpose of something.

For example:

Este lápiz es para escribir (this pencil is for writing);
Estamos para ayudar (we are here to help);
La copa es para el vino (the glass is for the wine);

3. Direction/ Destination

In Spanish, “para” is often used with verbs such as “ir”/ “venir”/ “salir” and similar verbs and before the name of a place. In such cases, “para” means something like “towards“/ “for” and identifies a direction or destination.

For example:

El autobús va para Madrid (the bus is going to/ towards Madrid);
¿Venís para Barcelona? (are you coming to Barcelona?);
Pedro salió para Vigo (Pedro departed for Vigo);

4. Intended Recipient

In Spanish, “para” is often before the name of a person or object to indicate the intended recipient of something. In such cases, “para” means something like “for“.

For example:

El regalo es para mi madre (the present is for my mother);
¿Compraste ese libro para Pedro? (did you buy that book for Pedro?);
Antonio me dio una camisa para ti (Antonio gave me a shirt for you);

5. Deadline

In Spanish, “para” is often used before a time expression to indicate a deadline for some action. In such cases, “para” means something like “for“/ “by”.

For example:

Los deberes de español son para mañana (my Spanish homework is due tomorrow);
Entregaré este trabajo para el viernes (I will hand in this work by Friday);
Pagaré la matrícula para el día quince (I will pay the registration fee by the 15^th);

6. Contrasting

In Spanish, “para” is often used to contrast some characteristic of an individual against the same characteristic of a group the individual belongs to. In such cases the meaning of “para” is something like “for“/ “compared with others... “.

For example:

Para un perro Pluto no ladra nada (for a dog Pluto does not bark at all);
Para tu edad te ves muy bien (for your age you look really well);
Para esa marca vuestro coche está muy bien (for that make, your car is very nice);

7. Readiness/ Disposition

In Spanish, “para” is often used with verb “estar” and followed by an infinitive to express an action which is about to occur. In this case, “estar para” means something like “to be just about to... “

For example:

Estámos para subir al avión (we are about to board the plane);
Estuve para quedarme en casa (I was just about to stay at home);
Estoy para salir de un momento a otro (I am just about to leave);

8. Duration

In Spanish, “para” is often used with verb “tener” and followed by the name of period of time to express what is remaining of an activity.

For example:

En este proyecto tenemos para un mes (this project will take us a month/ we have a month left to finish it);
Pedro tiene para rato* (Pedro is expected to remain where he is for a while);
Con esta lección de español tengo para un par de días (this Spanish lesson will take me a couple of days/ I should have finished it in a couple of days);

*NB Please note idiom “tener para rato”

9. Idiomatic Expressions

“Para” is used in many idiomatic expressions, such as:

Para eso... (for that...)*
- Example: ¿Para eso quieres que vaya? (you want me to go just for that?);
¿Para qué... ? (what for... ?)
- Example: ¿Para qué estudias español? (what are you studying Spanish for?);
Para qué... (so that...)
- Example: Estudio españal para que mis amigos españoles me puedan entender (I study Spanish so that my Spanish friends can understand me);

*NB Often used to pour scorn on something/ to indicate that something is not worth the bother.

Now you should practice the uses of “para” with some examples of your own.

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