Lesson 61 Notes

CoffeeBreakSpanish.com
In this edition:
introducing por
and para
Lesson 61
Notes
Este regalo es para ti
Using “for” in Spanish
Programme Notes
Coffee Break Spanish notes guide you through the content of each lesson. In this lesson we
introduce the famous ‘por’ and ‘para’ in the context of birthdays.
Conversation
Mark and Kara begin the lesson with a conversation about what Kara did during the holidays.
The transcript is provided here.
Spanish
English
M
¿Qué hiciste durante las vacaciones?
What did you do during the holidays?
K
Fui a un concierto con Antonio.
I went to a concert with Antonio.
M
¿Qué más hiciste durante las vacaciones?
What else did you do during the holidays?
K
Fuimos también al cine.
We also went to the cinema.
M
¿Qué película visteis?
What film did you see?
K
Vimos “Step Up 2: the Streets”
We saw “Step Up 2: the Streets”.
M
Pues, yo no conozco esta película. Es una
película ... ¿de qué trata la película?
Well I don’t know this film. Is it a .... What
is the film about?
K
El baile.
Dance
M
A mí no me gusta este tipo de película de
todos modos
I don’t like that kind of film anyway.
M
¿Qué más hicisteis o hiciste tú durante las
vacaciones?
What else did you both do, or what else
did you do during the holidays?
K
Un día dimos una vuelta a Loch Lomond
One day we went for a run (in the car) to
Loch Lomond
M
Y dime, cuando estabais en Loch
Lomond, ¿qué tal el tiempo? ¿Qué tiempo
hacía?
And tell me, when you were at Loch
Lomond, what was the weather like?
K
Hacía sol pero no hacía mucho calor
It was sunny but it wasn’t very warm
M
Pero por lo menos no llovía
At least it wasn’t raining!
K
No.
No
M
Y ¿algo más? ¿Hiciste algo más durante
las vacaciones?
And anything else? Did you do anything
else during the holidays?
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 61
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K
Sí, fui a una fiesta. Mi amiga celebraba su
cumpleaños.
Yes, I went to a party. My friend was
celebrating her birthday.
M
¿Qué le diste a tu amiga como regalo?
What did you give to your friend as a
present?
K
Le di un libro y una pulsera
I gave her a book and a bracelet.
Introducing ʻparaʼ
When you give something to someone in Spanish you could say:
este regalo es para ti
this present/gift is for you
In this phrase, the “destination” of the present is “you”. Look at the further examples below:
este libro es para Miguel
this book is for Miguel
esta casa es para Marta
this house is for Marta
esta carta es para vosotros/as / ustedes
this letter is for (all of) you
If you think of the above examples using the concept of “destination” it will help you to work out
future uses of para. In each case the “destination” of the gift, book, house, letter, etc. is “you”,
Miguel, Marta, “all of you”, etc.
Continuing the concept of “destination”, another use of para is when you talk about the
destination you are heading off to. Consider the following examples:
salgo para Francia
I’m leaving for France
esta tarde salgo para Madrid
this evening I’m leaving for Madrid
Introducing ʻporʼ
Staying within the concept of birthdays, to say “thank you for...” you use the word por to translate
the word “for”.
gracias por la música
thank you for the music
The reason for using por and not para in this case will become clear when we consider that por is
used to mean “in exchange for”. Consider the following example:
¿quieres cambiar mi CD por tu libro?
do you want to change my CD for your book?
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 61
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voy a comprar la casa por 150,000 euros
I’m going to buy the house for 150,000 euros
In both of these cases, the concept of “in exchange for” comes into play. In the first example, the
exchange is clear: if you give my your book I will give you my CD – a straight exchange. In the
second example it may not be as obvious, but there is still a clear exchange taking place: if I give
the seller €150,000, then he/she will give me the house – again, an exchange is taking place.
Now consider again “thank you for...”:
gracias por el regalo
thank you for the gift
Once again, although it is not particularly obvious, an exchange is being made. You gave me the
gift, and in return I am giving you my thanks.
Further examples of por and para will be covered in forthcoming lessons.
Examples given in the bonus podcast
In the bonus podcast for this lesson, you will be given a test to check your understanding of the
various grammatical points we’ve covered in lessons 51-59. The translations of each question are
given below. Each example is worked through on the bonus podcast.
Spanish
English
1
esta pulsera es para ti
this bracelet is for you
2
voy para Italia
I’m going to Italy
3
salimos para Venezuela mañana
we’re heading to Venezuela tomorrow
4
muchas gracias por la pulsera
thank you very much for the bracelet
5
ayer salieron para Inglaterra
yesterday they set off for England
6
cambio 200 dólares por 100 libras
I’m (ex)changing $200 for £100
7
gracias por el regalo que me diste
thank you for the present you gave me
8
quiero cambiar el vino blanco por un vino
tinto
I want to change the white wine for a red
wine
9
cuando era joven salía para España en
julio
when I was young I used to set off for
Spain in July
10
fuimos para la discoteca a las once
we went off to the disco at eleven
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Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 61
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