Question

Use the correct Spanish preposition in the following dialogue:

Answer 1

1.para
2.para
3.para
4.por
5.para
6.para
7.para
8.para

Answer 2

Learning the differences between por and para is always hard because these two words translates into the same words in English for, by, on, through, because of, in exchange for, in order to, as well as other prepositions and phrases.

• Para is used when talking about destinations, recipients, deadlines, and goals.

• Por is used when talking about movement, modes and means of travel and communication, exchanges, duration, and motivation, etc.

So let's explain each case:

1. Right answer:

para

Apunta hacia el camino que va para la playa

Here the preposition para stands for destination, that is, the statue of Simón Bolívar points towards a physical destination around the beach. On the other hand, caracas officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, a south american country.

2. Right answer:

para

¿Se viaja mucho desde aquí para ir a la playa?

Here the correct option we need to choose is also para because this sentence also stands for destination. So in this question we want to know how long it takes to go from here to the beach, that is, the time it takes to go from a point A to a point B. So it is possible this could take a long time or a short time.

3. Right answer:

para

No, no mucho, pero para viajar a la playa debemos terminar de estudiar. Aquí hay mucha gente en la plaza.

This sentence also stands for destination, so we would choose para as well From this context, we know that it takes a short time to go from here to the  beach. Moreover, from the context we know that the mentioned point A is a place near a square and point B is the beach, the place they want to go.

4. Right answer:

para

¿Para qué Charlie?

We can know that this is the correct answer only if we take a look in the next item, that is, it provides the context of the dialogue. So here para stands for goal, that is, it talks about goals and purposes. So he asks for the reason they are in this place.

5. Right answer:

para

¡Para comer antes de toda esa gente!

So here the context is clear, that is, the purpose of the previous question ¿Para qué Charlie?  (Why Charlie?) is answered here with an exclamation ¡Para comer antes de toda esa gente! Accordingly, the purpose is for them to eat before all the people.

6. Right answer:

por

Con tanta gente creo que es buena idea irnos pronto por un café.  

Here we need to use the preposition por. To say ir por un café is common in Spanish. In fact, it is always common to say To get something, therefore, we can say:

Ir por un helado (ice cream)

Ir por unos tragos (to get drinks)

7-8 Right answer:

para - para

¡Yo vine a la plaza para ver la estatua de Bolívar y para probar arepas!

• 7. Here we use para because this preposition stands here for goals, that is, my purpose to be here in the square is to see the statue of Simón Bolívar. The name of the squares where  a statue of Simón Bolívar stands is called La Plaza Bolívar. So it is common to find a square with this name in each important city in Venezuela.

• 8. Here we also use para because this preposition stands here for goals, that is, my purpose to be here in the square is to eat arepas.  Arepa is a type of food made of ground maize dough or cooked flour. This is an important meal in Venezuela. It can be served can with a lot of accompaniments such as cheese, cuajada, black beans, among others.