NIS Inspired Beginners Podcast 27 - Por and Para 1: Por

[Ben]

Listen and Pick up the Worksheets Here: (http://www.notesinspanish.com/2008/07/30/inspired-beginners-spanish-podcast-27-por-y-para-1-por/)

It’s Por and Para time! In this episode we start with a complete rundown of Por.

[Margot]

That was a GREAT breakdown of "por"., really inclusive and very clear...I was particularly surprised and delighted to see that you remembered to include "estoy por..." for about to do something. It's often overlooked, and as Ben says in the podcast - it's really useful.

[Ben]

Great Margot, glad you enjoyed it! We tried to fit Por and Para into one session, but it was way too much info for one podcast. Para next week!

[gastephen]

I was particularly surprised and delighted to see that you remembered to include "estoy por..." for about to do something.

Isn't that one that varies by region, i.e. to be about to = estar para (Sp), but estar por (LAm) ? (with the latter meaning in Spain to be in favour of doing something).

[Margot]

Isn't that one that varies by region, i.e. to be about to = estar para (Sp), but estar por (LAm) ? (with the latter meaning in Spain to be in favour of doing something).

:confused::confused::confused:Graham - you may very well be right:

1. I'd never studied Spanish until after moving to the States - and so I can't speak to whether this use of "por" might be different - because all my formal learning was with textbooks that emphasised "Latin American" usage.
I've just opened my University text as I type - it says under the heading: Uses of Por: "to be about to do something when used with estar + infinitive.
And then they give 2 examples: "Estaba por protestar la discriminación" & "Estábamos por discutir el problema".

2. When I listened to Ben and Marinas podcast this morning - there was a group of "Por" uses which they never translated as "to be about to" but the group seemed to fit into that category...I'll have to listen again to see.

[gastephen]

I've just looked it up. Refer to §34.14.2 (g) in the Gospel according to B & B.

[Margot]

well.....if the "estar por"" usage was good enough for J.L. Borges......:D

[gastephen]

well.....if the "estar por"" usage was good enough for J.L. Borges......:D

But was he in Spain when he said it? :cool:

Thus spake the DPD (http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltGUIBusDPD?lema=estar%28se%29):

"8. estar para + infinitivo. Significa ‘estar a punto o en disposición de realizar(se) lo expresado por el infinitivo’: «Supo que estaba para morir» (Cousté Biografía [Arg. 1978]); «¿Está para llover?» (Gala Petra [Esp. 1980]); «¡Imagínese si estoy para poner los cuernos a nadie!» (JmnzDiego Memorias [Esp. 2002]). En algunos países de América, se usa también, en estos casos, estar por (→ 9 (http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltGUIBusDPD?lema=estar%28se%29#9))."

[I've taken the liberty of greying out the irrelevant parts in my overtly selective quote above, lest the issue be confused by facts.]

[Margot]

o my:o:o:o....I'm sorry you went to all that trouble...I found the citing you 1st suggested straight away in my "B&B" -( where they refer to the different usage in Latin America) - and that's where i noticed the Burgos quote - from something I guess he could have written in Argentina, Spain, Texas or a dozen other places in the world - y no estoy por (América del Sur o para- España) buscarlo ;D.

[tad]

hay una discusión aquí (http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=124620)

[Margot]

wait a sec...just noticed you've greyed out - exactly what supports using estar por (in Latin America)...that's sneaky:D even if I knew how to play poker....I'd never play with you ;D cheat cheat cheat;)

[gastephen]

o my:o:o:o....I'm sorry you went to all that trouble

No trouble at all.

hay una discusión aquí (http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=124620)

Isn't that just going to cloud the issue with more facts and opinions :cool:

wait a sec...just noticed you've greyed out

Busted. :eek:

[tad]

Isn't that just going to cloud the issue with more facts and opinions :cool:

Yes. Well, it depends what way you look at it really.

[Ben]

We use 'Estoy por + verb' here in Spain (and in the podcast) to mean 'I feel like doing something', e.g. estoy por ir al cine, I'm up for going to the cinema.

I wasn't aware until now of the 'estoy para' usage!

[Pepino]

We use 'Estoy por + verb' here in Spain (and in the podcast) to mean 'I feel like doing something', e.g. estoy por ir al cine, I'm up for going to the cinema.

I wasn't aware until now of the 'estoy para' usage!

Just listened to the "Por" podcast while on my way to work this morning, and the "Estoy por..." stuck out when I heard it so I´m glad to find this discussion already well under way in the forum!

If I´ve ever wanted to get the point across that I´m up for doing something, I´ve always stuck to the old favourite "Me apetece...", so I´m pleased to now have a new way to vary things a bit.

Regarding being on the verge of doing something, I´ll stick to "Estoy a punto a.." as that is already well ingrained in my head and comes out without a second thought and seems pretty universal.

One question though... in the quiz in Ben´s email, the first one is driving me mad. OK, so it´s "Para guapo, Brad Pitt" but what is the frase trying to get across? It just doesn´t seem to make any sense at all with either Por or Para. :confused:

[Ben]

Hi Pepino :)

Para Guapo, Brad Pitt... is the sort of thing you'd hear in the middle of a conversation about good looking blokes, and means, 'If you want to talk about good looking people, then it's got to be Brad Pitt!'

Hopefully it will become clearer in next weeks podcast on para, but you might also say, 'Para hamburgesas, McDonalds' (errr, maybe not the best example), or 'Para ver famosos, Marbella' etc. Does that make sense?

Finally, i think "Estoy a punto a.." should be "Estoy a punto de.." for 'I'm about to...'

[gastephen]

Para aprender español, NiS.

[Ben]

Para aprender español, NiS.


:thumbs-up::thumbs-up::thumbs-up::thumbs-up:;D

[Pepino]

Does that make sense?

Finally, i think "Estoy a punto a.." should be "Estoy a punto de.." for 'I'm about to...'

Yep, that makes more sense now thanks! Nothing like a bit of context to help clear the fog.

As for the "Estoy a punto a...", no one will believe me, but I actually knew its "de" but sometimes what the brain says and what the fingers type don´t always agree! jeje. Thanks!

[Ben]

I believe you, don't worry! I thought you knew it was 'de' but mentioned it just in case!

[Margot]

Nothing like a bit of context to help clear the fog.

....or to bring it back again...but I can't resist playing with the apparent discrepancy between castellano and latin american usage......por lo tanto:

Hay los quienes están por reflexionar (feel like pondering) sobre este tema. Pero yo no tengo tiempo ya que mi amiga argentina acaba de llamarme y me dijo: "¡Sorpresa! Estoy para (I'm about to) llegar a tu casa" y a la vez mi esposo está a punto de (is about to) irse a España en 5 minutos.

(hope I got it "right":confused:;))

[gastephen]

Don't know if it was in the podcast, but one construction I like is por + present tense to denote something that almost happened, e.g. por poco caigo, I nearly fell.