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En réponse à Adam Walker <carrajena@hidden.email>: > > Gracias por la informacion. > > Thanks for the information. > Logical: you thank the person *because* you received information. It indicates *cause*. > > > Este regalo es para Juan. > > This gift is for Juan. > The destination of the gift, thus the *goal*. Extremely simple, you needn't a half-second to think correctly about it. > > > And even worse situations like: > > Juan compro' el regalo por Maria. (I did the correction :) ) > > or > > Juan compro' el regalo para Maria. > > > > In which both por and para must be translated "for" but have a very > different sense of for-ness. > Yep, the first indicates on the behalf of whom you buy the present, thus the *cause* of the action, while the second indicates who you buy the present for, i.e. the *goal* of the action. Two different meanings that completely deserve being treated differently. The problem here is not Spanish but English which conflates in one preposition two opposite meanings. But the distinction between "por" and "para" is as fundamental as the distinction between "from" and "to", and of the same kind. In this case, Spanish is more logical in making this distinction. > > But "by" is not the most common translation for "por". The most common > translation for both words is "for". > Blame that on ambiguous English :)) . Christophe. http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr It takes a straight mind to create a twisted conlang.