"por" Preposición

Front 1

USES of "por": To express...

1. Motivation, reasons, compulsion

("because of, out of, for, on behalf of, on account of")

Back 1

No pudimos ir POR el mal tiempo.
(We couldn't go because of the bad weather.)

Benavides actuó de esa manera POR celos.
(Benavides acted that way out of jealousy.)

Gonzalo hace muchos sacrificios POR sus hijos.
(Gonzalo makes many sacrifices for his children. -for their sake)

El abogado rogó al juez POR su cliente.
(The lawyer pleaded with the judge on behalf of his client.)

El Papa recibió el Premio Nobel POR su labor POR la paz.
(The Pope received the Nobel Prize on account of his work for peace.)

Front 2

2. Feelings or attitudes of the subject toward a person or thing;
also "to be for, to be in favor of"

Back 2

Siento gran admiración POR ese autor
(I feel great admiration for that author.)

Su odio POR aquel hombre no podía describirse con palabras.
(His hatred for that man could not be described with words.)

María siempre vota POR los candidatos republicanos.
(María always votes for the Republican candidates.)

Estoy cien por ciento POR esa ley.
(I am 100% for that law.)

Front 3

3. The object of an errand, usually with verbs like "ir, venir, mandar, enviar"

Back 3

Vine POR el libro que dejé aquí ayer.
(I came for the book that I left here yesterday.)

Como no quería cocinar, envié el robot al restaurante POR comida.
(Since I didn't want to cook, I sent the robot to the restaurant for food.)

Mi esposa se siente muy mal. Voy POR el médico.
(My wife feels very sick. I am going for the doctor.)

Front 4

4. Approximate location or time; place of transit

("around in by through, throughout, along")

Back 4

El explorador dijo que había piedras preciosas por ahí.
(The explorer said that there were precious stones around there.)

Nos gustaría viajar POR España.
(We would like to travel around Spain.)

La Alhabmra se comunica con el Generalife POR un túnel.
(The Alhambra is connected to the Generalife by a tunnel.)

--POR dónde se sale de este edificio?
--POR aquí.
("How does one get out of this building?" "This way.")

Pasó POR mi lado sin verme.
(He passed by my side without seeing me.)

El día está precioso. Demos un paseo POR la avenida.
(The day is very beautiful. Let's stroll along the avenue.)

Front 5

5. Duration of an action. "Por" is frequently omitted in this case.

Back 5

Nos quedaremos en la ciudad (POR) una semana.
(We will stay in the city (for) a week.)

Estuvo discutiendo con el vendedor (POR) dos horas.
(He was arguing with the salesman for two hours.)

Estuvimos sin vernos (POR) un mes.
(We didn't see each other for a month.)

Front 6

6. Substitution, exchange, price

Back 6

No creo lo que dices. Me tomas POR tonta?
(I don't believe what you're saying. Do you take me for a fool?)

Mi amigo está enfermo. Puedo examinarme POR él?
(My friend is sick. May I take the exam for him? [-in his place])

Como el novio vive en Europa, se casarán POR poder.
(Since the bridegroom lives in Europe, they'll be married by proxy.)

Un inversionista me ofreció mucho dinero POR este cuadro.
(An investor offered me a lot of money for this painting.)

Front 7

6. Substitution, exchange, price

~"Sustituir por" does not mean "to put (be) in the place of," but "to replace with."
Note that the elements involved are inverted in the Spanish sentence:

Back 7

~"Sustituir por" does not mean "to put (be) in the place of," but "to replace with."
Note that the elements involved are inverted in the Spanish sentence:

Sustituya los nombres POR pronombres.
(Replace the nouns with pronouns.)

Sustituiré el azúcar POR sacarina.
(I will replace sugar with saccharin.)

~"To substitute for" in the sense of one person taking the place of another = "Sustituir a" :

Ayer el profesor Padilla sustituyó a nuestro profesor, que estaba enfermo.
(Yesterday Professor Padilla substituted for our professor, who was sick.)

Front 8

7. Percentage, rate, multiplication.

Frequent English equivalents: "per, by"

Back 8

Con el cinturón volador, una persona podía recorrer una milla por minuto.
(With the flying belt a person could go one mile per minute.)

Tres POR cuatro son doce.
(3 x 4 = 12)

Trabajas POR hora o trabajas a destajo?
(Do you work by the hour or do you work on a piecework basis?)

El 40 POR ciento de los habitantes del país son analfabetos.
(40% of the inhabitants of the country are illiterate.)

Front 9

8. Means, manner, instrument, agent

Back 9

Echaron a los huelguistas POR la fuerza.
(They threw the strikers out by force.)

Usando mi calculadora resolví la ecuación como POR arte de magia.
(Using my calculator I solved the equation as if by magic.)

Me dieron todas las instrucciones POR teléfono.
(They gave me all the instructions by telephone.)

La terraza estaba protegida POR una campana aisladora.
(The terrace was protected by an isolating dome.)

Las piedras del río habían sido redondeadas POR el agua.
(The rocks in the river had been rounded by the water.)

Front 10

9. Incompleteness

("yet to be done, yet to be finished")

Back 10

El puente está POR terminar.
(The bridge is yet to be finished.)

Hay todavía muchos inventos POR perfeccionar.
(There are stil many inventions to be perfected.)

Front 11

Idiomatic Phrases with "por" :

al por mayor

Back 11

wholesale

Front 12

al por menor

Back 12

retail

Front 13

por adelantado

Back 13

in advance

Front 14

por ahora

Back 14

for the time being

Front 15

por casualidad

Back 15

by accident

Front 16

por completo

Back 16

completely

Front 17

por consiguiente

Back 17

therefore

Front 18

por decirlo así

Back 18

so to speak

Front 19

por desgracia

Back 19

unfortunately

Front 20

por encima

Back 20

hastily, cursorily

Front 21

por entero

Back 21

entirely

Front 22

por escrito

Back 22

in writing

Front 23

por eso

Back 23

for that reason

Front 24

por gusto

Back 24

unnecessarily, for the fun of it

Front 25

por las nubes

Back 25

sky-high
(price or praise)

Front 26

por lo general,
por regla general

Back 26

as a general rule

Front 27

por lo menos

Back 27

at least

Front 28

por lo visto

Back 28

apparently

Front 29

por ningún motivo

Back 29

under no circumstances

Front 30

por otra parte

Back 30

on the other hand

Front 31

por suerte

Back 31

luckily

Front 32

por supuesto

Back 32

of course

Front 33

por...vez

Back 33

for the....time

Elena visitaba el barrio de su amiga POR primera VEZ.
(Elena visited her friend's neighborhood for the first time.)

Front 34

Common Verbs Followed by "Por":

acabar por

Back 34

to end up by

Front 35

brindar por

Back 35

to drink to

Front 36

esforzarse por

Back 36

to strive to, for

Front 37

interesarse por

Back 37

to be interested in,
to inquire about

Front 38

luchar por

Back 38

to struggle to, for

Front 39

morirse por

Back 39

to be dying to

Front 40

optar por

Back 40

to choose to,
opt for

Front 41

preguntar por

Back 41

to inquire about, to ask for

Front 42

preocuparse por

Back 42

to worry about

Front 43

trepar por

Back 43

to climb up

Front 44

votar por

Back 44

to vote for