📖LearnModule 15 · Lesson 23 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2 mastery — the capstoneUnit 5 · La gramática de la precisión
Por y para, por última vez
Module 15 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C2 mastery — the capstone), lesson 23 of 30: Third: por and para. On this page: 10 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
por la mañana
in the morning
pohr lah mah-NYAH-nah
para mañana
for tomorrow (by then)
PAH-rah mah-NYAH-nah
lo hice por ti
I did it because of you
loh EE-seh pohr tee
lo hice para ti
I did it for you
loh EE-seh PAH-rah tee
trabajo para una empresa
I work for a company
trah-BAH-hoh PAH-rah OO-nah ehm-PREH-sah
la lista viva
the running list
lah LEES-tah BEE-bah
la costura visible
the visible seam
lah kohs-TOO-rah bee-SEE-bleh
la memoria pura
pure memory
lah meh-MOH-ryah POO-rah
fallar
to get wrong
fah-YAR
yo fallo en las preposiciones
I get the prepositions wrong
yoh FAH-yoh ehn lahs preh-poh-see-SYOH-nehs
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Third: por and para. It is the preposition pair every learner still gets wrong at C2, because the rule is not one rule. Por is cause, exchange, route and duration: lo hice por ti, por la mañana. Para is purpose, destination and deadline: lo hice para ti, para mañana.
Y también · And also
The habit that works: keep a running list of the sentences YOU get wrong, not a list of all of them. Yours will be about fifteen sentences long and it will not change much.
Ojo · Watch out
lo hice por ti is because of you; lo hice para ti is for you — one letter of preposition, two meanings. trabajo para una empresa (I work for a company); trabajo por dinero (for the sake of money). Keep the running list of the ones YOU get wrong.
fallar, presente — the table
yo fallo · tú fallas · él/ella/usted falla · nosotros fallamos · ustedes fallan · ellos/ellas fallan
Do it now — on paper
Say all 10 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with por la mañana.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out fallar, presente in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.