Por
Latinos por Biden.

It’s not about politics. It’s about grammar. Mándale saludos a tu mamá :)

Great question, though. Because for can be para and por. Which takes us to what I told you in the other thread that usage is the key. We use por and not para. Why? Just because. ;)

However, if you were running for president, we would use para and not por.

Candidate for president of the USA.

El candidato para la presidencia de los EE.UU.

So tricky. It’s impossible to get good rules for the por and para thing. It is one of things where what sounds right is right, and the only way for it to sound right is to use the language, see the written language, be immersed, and have people who know correct you.

It’s like my SIL has a really hard time with in and on in English. Spanish uses en for both. I gave her a tip that usually if you can say on top of then use on and if you can say inside of it’s in, but then she gave me an example where that rule won’t work. Oy.

My husband says “do you want to get down from the car” instead of out of the car. All I can figure is in Spanish maybe it’s customary to use bajar? I have no idea if that’s correct though.

Prepositions are a thorn in the side.

I once did a Q about unusual words in different languages and words that have no translation to English. I wish the search worked I would link the Q’s just because they were fun.

@JLeslie Yep, that’s what I’ve been saying all along. That’s why after 30 years teaching both languages and I also speak French and know a lot of German, I reached the conclusion that usage is the key for prepositions.

It is actually not my idea. It has been said before, but I am convinced that’s one good way to ease into prepositions. I wouldn’t recommend that, for example, with verb conjugation, but deciding what preposition goes with what cannot just be done with rules alone.

Your SIL is right about that usually if you can say on top of then use on and if you can say inside of it’s in, for example, it won’t work in deciding whether to say on my list or in my list, etc. Also, sometimes both in and on can be used but will carry a slight change in meaning.

My husband says “do you want to get down from the car” instead of out of the car. Yes, you are absolutely right, we say bajarse del carro. But, in this case, it’s a little bit his fault, because he is doing a literal translation as opposed to using the equivalent expression which is get out of the car. What I am trying to say is that it is a different kind of decision than to choose between in/on or por/para.

There are some forms of both languages that are specially difficult to get right, even after years of studying and speaking the language fluently.

Some words that are difficult for Spanish speakers learning English are: borrow and lend (Sp uses prestar for both situations), infinitive vs gerund because it contravenes the rules of infinitivo y gerundio in Spanish.

Some words that are difficult for English speakers learning Spanish are: ser y estar (English uses only to be for both situations), llamarse y mi nombre es (Eng. only uses my name is). Expressing future actions with voy a as opposed to using the conjugation in future (iré).

Those come to mind but there are quite a few.

PS One more thing, Latinos por Biden is really a literal translation of Latinos for Biden.

These type of signs are translated into a sort of Spanglish which is not natural for Spanish speakers. If that sign had been written directly in Spanish to really make sense in Spanish, it would read Latinos con Biden, or, even better, Los latinos estamos con Biden. But in posters and signs, sometimes they break the rules a little.

@Yeahright I agree with all of your examples, I’ve given some of them as examples myself in the past. My SIL gave me an airplane example regarding on and in and she was correct, as your example is also.

Verbs are much more work in Spanish. When you conjugate them incorrectly you are literally referring to the wrong person or thing while in English it simply sounds odd, but understood. In Spanish to want in present tense would be conjugated as quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, and quieren, while in English It’s just a choice of want or wants. The English is much simpler.

Talking about verbs, the mistake many Spanish speakers make is the past verb tense that uses did, I’m not sure what that tense is called, but for instance my husband mistakenly says, “I did said,” instead of “I did say don’t put on the light.” It’s understandably confusing, because he is referring to something in the past, so he conjugates say to the past tense, but the “did” changes everything.

There’s an old advertising example of the slogan “got milk” being translated into “tienes leche” and that being heard as “are you lactating” by Spanish speakers. Milk actually had more than just a translation consideration, the woman in charge felt there were big cultural differences in how marketing milk should be done towards the Spanish speaking audience vs the average English speaking American audience.

Funny though, my husband’s Mexican family doesn’t drink milk, so it would be lost on my MIL altogether. My family doesn’t drink milk out of a glass with meals either, just in cereal. My husband and I have some odd little things in common even though we were raised in different countries, in different religions, and very different national backgrounds in our families going back 2–3 generations.

I screw up indirect pronouns in Spanish a lot.

I like Latinos con Biden better by the way. I think the difference probably is a native speaker raised in Latin America coming up with the slogan vs a bilingual American who might even have been raised in their home in Spanish, but raised here in the states.

We could go on forever. Lol.

I still get it wrong all the time but I believe para is used to show support of something or someone. I could be wrong. I believe I get this wrong a lot. I did find this website that helps break it down for you in quick lessons. It’s still confusing to me, but it may be because I am dead sleepy. https://www.spanishdict.com/guide/quick-tips-for-understanding-por-and-para

@Pandora …I believe para is used to show support of something or someone. It could but not in all cases.

You could say Siempre estoy aquí para cuando me necesites. but Latinos por Biden Both express support, one with para and one with por.