How do i know whether to use “por” or “para” when writing spanish sentences?

Question by Milo: How do i know whether to use “por” or “para” when writing spanish sentences?
I have a test tomorrow in spanish and i need help. the test is on whether to use “por” or “para” when writing spanish sentences but i don’t know when to use which. can anybody help me?

Best answer:

Answer by jesteele1948
If you know you need one of these words, and you have an idea how to say it in English, try this rule:

Use “para” if you can say the equivalent using the phrase, “in order to”, “so that”, “by (or for) being”, “to have (or by having)”.
The general sense is that, following “para” will be a verb or a verb phrase, NOT a noun.

If none of these works for a good English translation, then use “por”. It’s not real obvious, but English uses “for” for at least two purposes, while Spanish uses two different words. “Por” will be the right translation when, in English, you would say “for” followed simply by a noun.

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