SCENARIO
Imagine
you are talking to a relative, a friend or a colleague. The other
person has invited you to have a coffee but you appear a bit
reluctant to accept. The other person says something like: "tell
me, do you not feel like having a coffee?".
In
Spanish, he/ she could choose to be less formal and say to you:
Dime,
¿no estás por tomarte un café?
On the
other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say to you:
Dígame,
¿no está (usted) por tomarse un café?
OUR
TIP
The question is an
invitation for you to confirm whether or not you are feeling like
having a coffee. When you say what you feel like having, you DO
NOT need to be concerned about the level of formality in the
other person's question. In this case, your main concern should be
about saying whether or not you feel like having a coffee. Perhaps in
this case you want say that you:
Here are a couple
of examples of what you could say, whilst practising the use of
“por”:
Sí,
estoy por*
tomarme un café (yes,
I feel like having a coffee);
No
no estoy por*
tomarme un café, estoy por*
tomarme un té (no,
I don't feel like having a coffee, I feel like having a tea);
Now you should
practise using “por” in replying to someone who says to
you:
Dime,
¿no estás por tomarte un café?
*Please
see grammar below
Grammar-”POR”
The
use of “por” and “para” often causes some
confusion amongst learners of Spanish. This post deals with the uses
of “por”. A separate series of blog posts is dedicated to
the uses of “para”.
In
this post we look at a number of situations in which “por”
is commonly used. “Por” is commonly used in the following
cases:
1.
Passive Voice Constructions
Passive voice
constructions, although perhaps less common in Spanish than they are
in English, are nonetheless very similar in both languages.
In Spanish, “por”
is used in passive voice constructions very much as “by”
is used in the English counterparts. That is, “por” is
placed before the agent in Spanish passive voice constructions.
Some
examples of the use of “por” in passive voice
constructions are shown below:
Fui
multado por la
policía de tráfico (I
was fined by the traffic police);
¿Fuiste
despachado por esa
dependienta? (were
you attended by that sales assistant?);
El
Quijote fue escrito por Miguel
de Cervantes (Don
Quixote was written by Miguel de Cervantes);
¿Fuisteis
llamados por la empresa? (were you called
by your employer?);
Esos libros
fueron comprados por mi padre (those
books were bought by my father);
2.
Motives
In Spanish “por”
is be used to express the motive or justification for some actions or
events. Typical expressions of motive or justification could be:
Examples
of the use of “por” in this type of expression are
shown below:
No
puedo viajar por falta
de dinero (I
cannot travel due to the lack of money);
Perdiste el
tren por haber llegado tarde (you missed
the train because you arrived late);
Pedro no nos
escribió por falta de tiempo (Pedro didn't
write to us because he didn't have time);
Fuimos al
gimnasio por necesidad (we went to the gym
because we needed to do it);
Por
una estupidez perdisteis un buen amigo (because of something
stupid you lost a good friend);
Por
el calor que hacía se desencadenó una enorme tormenta (because
of the hot weather a huge storm developed);
3.
Places
In Spanish “por”
is often used with the names of places or objects with the following
typical meanings:
With verbs such as “ir”/
“venir”/ “volver”/ “pasar”
and other similar verbs, “por” is placed before
the name of a place or an object to mean “through”. For
example:
Este tren pasa por
Madrid (this train passes through Madrid);
Ese vuelo va por
Barcelona (that flight goes via Barcelona);
Pasamos por el
puente (we went over the bridge);
Volvimos a casa por
el parque (we returned home through/ via the park);
El agua pasa por
la tubería (water flows through the pipe);
With verbs such as “atravesar”/
“cruzar”
and similar verbs, “por”
is placed before a name of a place or an object to mean “through”.
For example:
4.
Places - Whereabaouts
In
Spanish “por”
is often used with verbs such as
“estar”/
“encontrarse”
and similar verbs, to indicate the location of something without
giving specific details.
For
example:
¿Tu casa está por
aquí? (is your house around here?);
Mis libros están por
ahí (my books are in/ around there);
Las mejores
tiendas se encuentran por el centro (the
best shops are around he centre);
Andamos por
Londres (we are in/ around London);
Paseamos por
el parque (we had a walk in/ around the park);
5.
Holding/ Grabbing
In
Spanish “por”
is often used with verbs such as
“agarrar”/
“sujetar”/
“tener”
and similar verbs, to indicate the specific part “by”
which something or someone is grabbed/ held/ handled/ etc..
For
example:
Tengo la raqueta por
el cuello (I have the racket by the neck – of the racket!);
Pedro me agarró
por el brazo (Pedro grabbed me by the arm);
Sujetar la olla
por las asas (hold the pot by the handles);
6.
Favour
In
Spanish “por”
is often used with verbs such as
“hacer”/
“votar”
and many similar verbs, to express what is done “for
the sake of”/ “in
favour of” someone or
something.
For
example:
Esta casa la
compramos por mi madre (we bought this
house for the sake of my mother);
Hice lo que
hice por María (I did what I did for the
sake of Maria);
No sé por
quien voy a votar (I am not sure who I am going to vote for);
7.
Time Periods
In
Spanish “por”
is often used with
undetermined or general time periods. In such cases, “por”
expresses the time period “during”
which an action takes place/ something happens.
For
example:
Estudio español por
las tardes (I study Spanish in/ during the afternoons);
Por Semana Santa nos
gusta ir a España (we like going to Spain at/ during Easter);
Por
enero casi siempre hace mucho frío (in/ during January it is
almost always very cold);
8.
Perception
In
Spanish “por”
is often used with verbs such as
“tener”/
“tomar”/
“dar”
and similar verbs, to express what is considered perception, opinion
or reputation.
For
example:
Mis amigos me tienen por
loco (my friends' opinion is that I am crazy);
¿Por
quien me tomas? (who do you
think I am?/ what do you take me for?);
Te dan por muy
buen profesor (you have the reputation of a very good teacher/
in other people's opinion you are a very good teacher);
Eso lo doy por
hecho (for me, that is as good as done);
9.
Communications
In
Spanish “por”
is often used with verbs such as
“hablar”/
“enviar”/
“comunicarse”
and similar, to indicate the means
“by”
which communication takes place.
For
example:
Hablé con Pedro por
teléfono (I spoke to Pedro on the phone/ by means of the
phone);
¿Me
enviste ese documento
por correo?
(did you put that document in the post for me?/ did you send it to
me by means of the posted mail?);
Nos comunicamos por
señas (we communicate by
means of sign language);
La carta nos la
enviaron por correo aéreo (they sent us
the letter by air mail);
10.
Prices & Other Amounts
In
Spanish “por”
is often used with verbs such as “comprar”/
“cambiar”/
“dar”
and similar verbs to
express amounts in exchanges/ commercial transactions.
For
example:
Compré un par de zapatos por
quince euros (I bought a pair of shoes for 15 euros);
Cambié la moto vieja por
una nueva (I exchanged my old motorbike for a new one);
¿Me
das tu abrigo por
el mío?
(will you give me your coat for mine?);
11.
Proxies
In
Spanish “por”
is often used
to express an action by proxy , that is an action “on
behalf of”
someone else.
For
example:
12.
Rates/ Frequencies/ Percentages
In
Spanish “por”
is often used to
express all sorts of rates and frequencies.
For
example:
Íbamos a cien kilómetros por
hora (we were travelling at 100 Km/hour);
Practico español cinco veces por
semana (I practice Spanish 5 times per week);
Esa
inversión me deja un siete por ciento annual
de beneficios (that investment gives me an annual profit of 7%);
13.
Future
In
Spanish “por”
is often used with verbs such as
“estar”/
“quedar”and
similar verbs, to express actions or events which are expected to
occur in the future or actions which are ongoing but still to be
completed.
For
example:
Ese tren todavía está por
llegar (that train is still to arrive);
Aun
nos quedan plazas
por cubrir?
(we still have some vacancies to fill);
Mis deberes aun están por
acabar (my homework is still not finished);
14.
Errands
In
Spanish “por”
is often used with verbs such as
“ir”/
“mandar”and
similar verbs, to express the objectives of an errand.
For
example:
Voy por
el periódico (I am going to
get the paper);
Nos mandaron por
pan (they sent us to fetch
some bread);
Pasamos
por ti a las ocho (we'll come to pick you
up at 8:00);
15.
Pointless Action
In
Spanish “por”
is often used in between two appearances of the same verb, with the
verb which follows it in infinitive. This construction is used in
Spanish to express some pointless or futile action. That is something
done just “for
the sake of it”,
with no other intended purpose.
For
example:
Hablar por
hablar (talk for the sake of talking – no other purpose);
Si me
llamas por llamar no llames (if you are calling me
just for the sake of it, don't call);
Creo que me
escribes por escribir (I believe you are
writing to me just for the sake of it);
16.
In The Mood
In
Spanish “por”
is often used with verbs such as
“estar”
and followed by another verb in infinitive to express a mood or
inclination to do something.
For
example:
17.
Gratitude
In
Spanish “por”
is often used after
“gracias”
to express gratitude for something.
For
example:
18.
Idiomatic Expressions
“Por”
is used in many idiomatic expressions. A sample of them, with
relevant examples is shown below:
Por
adelantado (in advance);
Por ahora
(for the time being);
Por allí
(around there/ that way);
Por aquí
(around here/ this way);
Por
casualidad (by chance);
Por cien
(percent);
Por ciento
(percent);
Por cierto
(as a certainty/ by the way);
Example: Eso
lo damos por cierto (we take that as a
certainty);
Exampe: Por
cierto, ¿cuándo empieza la película? (by the way,
when does the film begin?);
Por completo
(completely);
Por dentro
(in the inside)
Por
desgracia (unfortunately);
Por ejemplo
(for example);
Por el amor
de Dios
(for the love of God);
Por eso
(for that reason);
Por favor
(please);
Por fin
(at last);
Por fuera
(on the outside);
Por fuerza
(by force/ unavoidably);
Por las
buenas (voluntarily/
avoiding confrontation/ with good will));
Por las
malas (by force);
Por lo
general (generally);
Por lo menos
(at least);
Por lo tanto
(consequently);
Example: Estamos
de vacaciones, por lo tanto no trabajamos
(we are on holiday, consequently, we don't work);
Por lo visto
(apparently)
Por medio
de (by means of):
Por mi parte
(as for me/ as far as I am concerned);
Por ningún
lado (nowhere/ anywhere)
Por ninguna
parte (nowhere/ anywhere)
Por otra
parte (on the other hand);
Por primera
vez (for the first time);
¿Por qué?
(why?);
Por que
(so that);
Porque
(because);
Por separado
(separately);
Por si acaso
(just in case);
Por suerte
(fortunately);
Por supuesto
(of course);
Por todas
partes (everywhere);
Por todo lo
alto (no expense spared);
Por todos
lados (everywhere);
Por último
(finally);
Now
you should practice the uses of “por” with some examples
of your own.
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