If you are not a native Spanish speaker, I’m sure 100% sure that you sometimes have to guess about whether you should use Para or Por in Spanish.
In this lesson I help you figure out when to use POR in Spanish as we focus on using por in the medical setting. This lesson helps you speak to your Spanish speaking patients more confidently 🙂
In this free Medical Spanish lesson you will learn:
- 6 Medical Spanish uses for POR in Spanish
- An acronym which helps you to remember these uses
- I sing you an amazing song to reinforce this knowledge 🙂
- And, finally, I give you a lot of examples in the clinical context
Here is the Medical Spanish lesson about 6 Medical Spanish uses for POR in Spanish I taught to the Facebook group:
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The Meanings of POR / Los Significados de POR
- For (muchos usos incluyen “for”)
- Because of
- Through
- By
- In
- Per
Some Examples of Por in Spanish / Unos ejemplos
| Spanish | English |
Tome 2 pastillas POR la mañana todos los días  | Take 2 pills in the morning every day |
| Es bueno hacer ejercicios 5 días POR semana. | It is good to do exercises 5 days per week. |
| Pasamos un catéter POR la vena hasta el corazón… | We pass a catheter through the veins to the heart … |
| Antes de alcanzar su deducible, hay que pagar POR las consultas | Before reaching your deductible, you have to pay for your visits |
| No podemos iniciar quimioterapia todavía POR el nivel de células blancas | We can not start chemotherapy yet because of the level of white blood cells |
| Espere aquí POR unos minutitos, vuelvo pronto | Wait here for a few minutes, I’ll be back soon |
An Acronym for using Por in Spanish / Un acrónimo: DREEMS
This acronym is going to help you sort out the uses of POR and avoid hesitation during conversations in Spanish 🙂
D: Duration (for # time – minutes, days, hours, weeks, etc.)
Every time you are talking about a duration of time , whether that is an amount of minutes, days, months, years, etc., you always need to use POR.
| Spanish | English |
| La medicina alivia el dolor por 4-6 horas. | The medicine relieves pain for 4-6 hours. |
| El adicto no ha usado drogas por 2 meses | The addict has not used drugs for 2 months. |
R: Reason (because of)
Use POR to explain the reason that something is happening.
| Spanish | English |
| Ella llamó a la doctora por los efectos secundarios que tenía. | She called the doctor because of the side effects she had. |
| ¿Por qué tenemos que esperar? | Why do we have to wait? |
E: Exchange (trade, swap, change, pay for)
Anytime you are trading, swapping or changing something for something else, you are going to use POR.
| Spanish | English |
| Necesitamos cambiar esta venda sucia por otra limpia | We need to change this dirty bandage for another clean one. |
| La mamá no paga por los quehaceres, son “contribuciones”. | The mother does not pay for the chores, they are “contributions”. |
E: Emotion (happy for, nervous for, worry about, etc.)
If you want to explain the reason that you are feeling certain emotion, you need to use POR.
| Spanish | English |
| La mamá está muy nerviosa por la cirugía. | The mother is very nervous about the surgery. |
| Pero su hija no se preocupa por nada | But her daughter does not care about anything. |
Note: “Su” also means “your”, “his”, and “its” and the meaning depends on the context and the subject. The plural of “Su” is “Sus”.
M: Mode (by, through, via)
POR helps you to explain the way you need to do something
| Spanish | English |
| Hay que tomar esta medicina por boca | You have to take this medicine by mouth. |
| No podemos dársela por suero. | We can not give it to you by IV. |
S: Substitution (on behalf of, “for” someone)
If you are doing something for someone or on behalf of someone, then you need to use POR.
| Spanish | English |
| Juan cumple años hoy, así que estoy trabajando por él | Juan is celebrating his birthday today, so I’m working for him. |
| Es importante abogar por la justicia y por los derechos humanos. | It is important to advocate for justice and for human rights. |
Note: Be careful with the verb “work for” because if you are trying to explain that you work for a company in Spanish, then you have to say “trabajar para”:
- I work for Common Ground International: Yo trabajo PARA Common Ground International.
- She works for a private clinic: Ella trabaja para una clínica privada.
Trabajar por: Work in substitution for someone, work for a reason
Trabajar para: Your employment
A Por in Spanish Song to the tune of Happy Birthday
Pray for, Pay for, Thank for
For the sake of, Motive
In exchange for, Cause, Duration
By, In, Through, For, Use POR
Practice / Práctica
- You don’t need to pay for this consult today.
- No necesita pagar por esta consulta hoy
- No necesita pagar por esta consulta hoy
- You take this antibiotic for 5 days
- Usted toma este antibiótico por 5 días.
- It’s a pill, so you take it by mouth
- Es una pastilla, así que la toma por boca.
- Your heart pumps blood through your body
- Su corazón bombea sangra por su cuerpo
- Su corazón bombea sangra por su cuerpo
- Thank you for your patience
- Gracias por su paciencia
¡Gracias POR aprender español conmigo!
Now it’s your turn! I packaged all of this vocabulary in Spanish into some flashcards for you to study.
I packaged all of this into easily downloadable .pdf notes–Get your copy for free today!
Keep up the good work speaking responsible Spanish to your patients!
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