If I say "This is for you" — Éste es para ti — in Spanish, I use a different word to translate "for" (para) than I do when a say "I worked for three hours" — tabajé por tres horas — where I use por.
Why is that?
One explanation is that "for" doesn't mean the same thing in both English sentences. Translating "for" can be particularly difficult for Spanish students, because the difference between the two most common translations, por and para, can seem arbitrary. Our lesson on the two prepositions can help you keep them straight.
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