Q: ?Cuanto tiempo has estudiado espanol? He estudiado por/para tres anos. which one do I use? WHY?
2007-03-07 16:59:52 · 9 answers · asked by tickledpink11111 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
You would use 'por' as it descibes a length of time.
'Para' is typically used for explanatory frases.
Example of 'por': No te he visto por tanto tiempo = I have not seen you for such a long time.
Examples of 'para':
'Es para ti' = Its for you.
'Necesitamos dinero para comprar cosas' = We need money to buy things.
2007-03-07 17:15:11 · answer #1 · answered by NiP 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Not for voting. Just a comment.
I don't wish to be a spoiler here but I found stuff on the internet that verifies what dayday, Walter E, The Mexi, Nip, Ryan, Brahe have all said; even GrahamH e.g. "Esudio Arte en la Universidad de las Filipinas desde hace tres años. ... "
However, "por" appears most often. Prepositions are one of the hardest things to learn in all languages.
2007-03-09 02:42:21 · answer #2 · answered by Brennus 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
para usually means for the purpose of or in order to ...
when talking about a length of time you use por ... he estudiado español por 5 años .
If you were wanting to explain the reason that you're studying spanish, you would use para ... estoy estudiando español para conocer otra lengua
2007-03-08 01:15:53 · answer #3 · answered by Ryan 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The right one is "por" for that sentence.
Maybe you'll find this useful: http://www.phrasebase.com/forum/read.php?TID=16586
To answer Graham: I am a native, and I'd use "por" without any problem. I am not saying the alternatives you give are wrong. But the question is which one to use. I USE "por" in that sentence. And the sentence is correct.
2007-03-08 01:50:00 · answer #4 · answered by kamelåså 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
in spanish you would actually say he estudiado DURANTE tres años, a secondary form could be POR but it is not very usual, PARA is absolutely out of the question
2007-03-08 01:14:33 · answer #5 · answered by NONAME 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
POR. Por means for, Para means- in order to.
2007-03-08 01:12:56 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Neither - the Spanish for I have studied Spanish for 3 years is along the lines of:
Estudio el español desde hace 3 años
OR
Llevo 3 años estudiando español
There are a number of different ways of saying this, and you do not need to use POR or PARA in any of them.
2007-03-08 02:21:52 · answer #7 · answered by GrahamH 7 · 1⤊ 4⤋
pinche gringo lol (solo jugando con tigo)
use para for feeling (in order0
use por for like to and stuff)
ex. es para su novia
esta alli por el
2007-03-08 01:03:12 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
por.
2007-03-08 01:02:29 · answer #9 · answered by dayday 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋