Translating "for" into Spanish can be a bit of a pain.. as no doubt you have found.

I suppose this is a lot to do with the ways we use "for" in English.... just look at this lot of " for" sentences I came up with in just a few minutes of concentrated thought ....

[a] What is this thing for ?
[b] I'm all for it.
[c] For 3 weeks he lived in a special hutch.
[d] For once, just shut up and listen to me.
[e] A dog is for life, not just for Christmas.
[f] This gold-plated lawn-mower is for you.
[g] I'm ready for anything with this new thermal vest.
[h] Come on then, are you for or against trousers for horses?
[i] What's the Spanish word for " gazumped ?"
[j] I've never played chess for England, unfortunately.
[k] You get 8 for £5.
[l] Once they all got drunk it turned into a free-for-all in there.
[m] There's flooding for 200 metres down that road.
[n] For all his good intentions, he only lasted 3 days without a cigarette.
[o] The shop's very quiet for a Saturday.
[p] You're not going out dressed like that for a start !

I'm sure there are plenty of other troublesome possibilities.

So what can you do about all this ?

FIRST.... learn some rules that cover most of the possibilities.......here's a few to give you the idea....

PARA generally refers to some future destination or purpose, whereas POR usually harks back to a cause, reason or motive.

Think of the final A in parA standing for "advance" and the final R in poR standing for "reverse" to help you remember this.

[This overall rule doesn't always work though.]

...... Use POR if it's " for" really meaning because of" or "by means of" or "I'm for something"

.. make a list of rules like this nicked from a wide variety of sources... you will generally find that some books have different/better ways of putting things.

SECOND.... skim through dual-language books looking for por/para/for etc usage and see if you can work out why they've used what they have used.

THIRD... Collect "for" sentences in your Spanish notebook from your reading/hearing. For each one, think up a few new sentences using the same idea.

You should do this sort of thing with any grammar points you feel you are struggling with.... subjunctives, estar/ser, the 300 meanings of 'echar", past participles... anything.

Well that's enough boring old grammar... let's have some music...


This is the improbably named Satin Dolls and No Estás




and here's what I hope are the accurate words...

Ya no…quiero decir adiós,
Donde ah quedado tu voz…
Me ah dejado sin tu respiración…
Y ya no puedo sentirte…
Te fuiste sin decir adiós..
Y tu recuerdo quedo…
Fuiste sin pedir permiso…
Creo que sigues a mi lado…
(coro)(x2)

Ya no… vere tu sonrisa
De que sere sin ganas de vivir…
Ya no… vere tu sonrisa
Sacaron de mi vida…uhuh…
Sacaron de mi vida…uhuh…