www.alphadictionary.com

I am mostly unable to distinguish when to use para and por in Spanish. Does anyone have any SIMPLE hints, tips or suggestions?

I remember when I was taking Spanish, there were some ways to distinguish which to use. Many years later, I find I have developed an instinct that is usually correct, probably from reading so much that I learned by induction. Maybe Philip has an idea.

On reflection, maybe – maybe, it goes something like this. Por usually takes a noun or pronoun for an object. Este libro es por Juan. Para often results in some kind of action? Este libro es para leyendo a la clase. Maybe?

William: there are several sites to help with Spanish grammar, but this one appears to have a straightforward set of guidelines for por and para. Perhaps a native speaker or Spanish teacher can point to a better list?

Thank you Perry and Gailr.

The site for por versus para Gail recommended is thorough. That's a lot to remember. We are talking prepositions here so we shouldn't be surprised. German prepositions are also hard. "to the city" translates "in die Stadt" while "to home" translates "nach Hauser". English prepositions may be the hardest. http://translate.google.com/ does a good job on specific instances.

In Greek, and I think Latin, the case following the preposition plays a role. The same word followed by an accusative may mean one thing and followed by a genitive another meaning altogether. Then there is the holy trinity of cases: dative, locative, and instrumental - all of which are written identically. In NT commentaries writers can go on and on elaborating one choice against another. Thankfully (it is the season), English doesn't have that plethora of cases, although we keep the dative in the form of an indirect object. Mind-bending.