Home / Courses / Spanish 3 / Unit 8

Spanish 3 Unit 8: Por vs. Para and Relative Pronouns

This unit sorts out the two prepositions that both often mean for, por and para, and teaches the relative pronouns que, quien, el que, el cual, lo que and cuyo that link clauses together.

Covers: Uses of para, Uses of por, Por and para contrasts, Fixed expressions with por, Que, quien and el que / el cual, Lo que, lo cual and cuyo

Study guide

Para points toward a goal or endpoint. Use it for purpose (Estudio para ser médico; with a noun, Este regalo es para ti), destination (Salimos para Madrid), deadlines (La tarea es para el lunes), recipients, employment (Trabaja para una empresa grande), and comparisons against expectations (Para un niño, lee muy bien; for a child, he reads very well). A helpful test: if you can say in order to, intended for, toward, or by (a deadline), you need para. Para also appears in opinions (Para mí, es la mejor película) and in the expression estar para, meaning to be about to: El tren está para salir.

Por looks back at a cause, a route or a means. Use it for cause or reason (Lo hice por ti, because of you; Cancelaron el partido por la lluvia), duration (Estudié por tres horas), movement through or along (Caminamos por el parque), exchange or price (Pagué $20 por el libro; Gracias por la ayuda), means of communication or transport (por teléfono, por correo), per (dos veces por semana), the agent in the passive (escrito por Cervantes), and on behalf of or in place of (Trabajé por mi hermano). Por also appears in many fixed expressions: por fin, por eso, por supuesto, por lo menos, por ejemplo.

Some contrasts change the meaning completely. Trabajo para mi padre means my father is my employer; Trabajo por mi padre means I work in his place or for his sake. Salgo para el parque means I'm heading to the park; Paseo por el parque means I'm walking through it. Este libro es para Ana means it's intended for her; Compré el libro por Ana could mean because of her or on her behalf. On tests, read the whole sentence and ask whether the idea points forward to a goal (para) or back to a cause or exchange (por).

Relative pronouns join two ideas about the same noun. Que is the most common and can refer to people or things: El libro que leí era largo; La mujer que vive aquí es médica. After short prepositions (a, con, de, en) with things, use que or el/la que: la casa en (la) que vivo. Quien and quienes refer only to people and are used after prepositions (el chico con quien salgo) or in nonrestrictive clauses set off by commas (Mi tía, quien vive en Lima, viene mañana). Never use quien right after a person noun in a restrictive clause: *El hombre quien vino is wrong; say El hombre que vino.

El que, la que, los que, las que and el cual, la cual, los cuales, las cuales agree in gender and number with the noun they replace. They are preferred after longer prepositions (para, sin, por, detrás de) and to avoid confusion: El edificio detrás del cual hay un parque. Lo que and lo cual refer to an entire idea rather than a noun: No entiendo lo que dices; Llegó tarde, lo cual me molestó. Lo que also means what at the start of a sentence: Lo que necesito es dormir. Cuyo means whose and agrees with the thing possessed, not the owner: el autor cuyas novelas leí.

Key ideas

• Para expresses purpose, destination, deadlines, recipients, employers and comparison to a standard.
• Por expresses cause, duration, route, exchange, means, per, agent and on behalf of.
• Por appears in fixed expressions: por fin, por eso, por supuesto, por lo menos, por ejemplo.
• Que is the default relative pronoun for both people and things.
• Quien refers only to people and is used after prepositions or between commas.
• El que / el cual agree with the noun and follow longer prepositions; lo que / lo cual refer to whole ideas.
• Cuyo means whose and agrees with the noun possessed.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Using para for exchange or thanks (*Gracias para la ayuda).
• Using por for purpose before an infinitive (*Estudio por aprender).
• Using quien directly after a person noun without a comma or preposition (*La chica quien vino).
• Making cuyo agree with the owner instead of the thing possessed (*el chico cuyo hermanas).
• Using que instead of lo que for what (*No sé que quieres instead of No sé lo que quieres).

Before the test, make sure you can

• Identify the use of para in a sentence (purpose, destination, deadline, recipient, employer, comparison).
• Identify the use of por in a sentence (cause, duration, route, exchange, means, per, agent).
• Explain meaning changes between por and para in minimal pairs.
• Use por in common fixed expressions.
• Choose between que, quien, el que and el cual in relative clauses.
• Use lo que and lo cual to refer to whole ideas.
• Make cuyo agree with the noun possessed.

Words to know

por fin

finally

por eso

that's why

por supuesto

of course

por lo menos

at least

por ejemplo

for example

por casualidad

by chance

para siempre

forever

para colmo

to top it off

no es para tanto

it's not a big deal

para nada

not at all

que

that, which, who

quien

who, whom

el cual / la cual

which, whom

lo que

what

cuyo/a

whose

el recado

errand

cambiar

to exchange

el reembolso

refund

el plazo

deadline; period

la entrega

delivery

el sobre

envelope

Sample practice questions

30 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.