HOW TO TEACH POR VS PARA
When do we use por and when do we use para?
As I have explained in another blogpost about ser and estar, we need to avoid dishing out those cute acronyms and lists of uses when we explain the use of any grammatical feature. The reason remains the same. We do not want students having to stop to think about what use of por or para they are talking about, and what letter of the acronym that use is. This is not how a conversation should flow. It is ok to stumble, correct oneself, think for a second, etc., but stopping to figure out uses of por and para connected to letters of acronyms, so that we can carry on with the conversation, is not the way to go with our students or as language professionals.
So what do we do?
I am all for simplifying matters, so that they can be easily and automatically digested. So for now, teach a few basic uses and leave the rest out. As students master these few rules of por and para, they will be in a good situation to assimilate the other uses later on. We can look at knowledge like food, but for the brain. We can only take so much food at a time. When we eat, it is best to eat small portions that can be digested. If we gulp all our food, most likely, we will get a tummy ache and we won't digest all that food the way we should.
Para simplified
I would teach two main ideas regarding para. Only two ideas are easy to remember. Students can handle that.
Destination in time and space.
Voy para mi casa. I am going to/toward my house. (Destination)
Este regalo es para ti. This present is for you. (Recipient)
La tarea es para mañana. Homework is for/due tomorrow. (Deadline)
Purpose
Vengo para hablar contigo. I am coming to talk to you. (Purpose)
Por simplified
Por has the longest list of uses of the two, and therefore the longest acronym that I refuse to share with students. I suggest explaining only two ideas out of the many that can be mentioned.
Unspecified time and space.
Prefiero estudiar por las mañanas. I would rather study in the mornings. (Unspecified time in the morning)
Ayer paseamos por la ciudad. Yesterday we walked through/around/along... the city. (Unspecified space in the city)
Reason or cause.
Llegaron tarde por la lluvia. They were late because of the rain. (Reason or cause)
Captain obvious
Per looks just like por for a reason.
Hay una silla por persona. There is a chair per person.
Those set expressions…
Granted, there are many expressions with por and para. I will just provide three for either word. I don't see the point of memorizing a list of set expressions, but having it handy and incorporating these expressions as we learn is not a bad idea.
Expressions with por.
Por supuesto: of course.
Por ejemplo: for example.
Por ahora: for now.
Expressions with para.
Para variar: for a change.
Para entonces: by then.
Para siempre: Forever.
Argh shimmer me timbers cross me seas…
Now that you have all this info, I would love for you to go try teaching por and para as I suggest, and tell me know how it went.