Grammar Rules

accept	aceptar	close/shut	cerrar
allow	permitir/dejar	organize	organizar
ask	preguntar	pay	pagar
believe	creer	play	jugar
borrow	prestar	put	poner
break	romper	rain	llover
bring	traer	read	leer
buy	comprar	reply	responder
can/be able	poder	run	correr
cancel	cancelar	say	decir
change	cambiar	see	ver
clean	limpiar	sell	vender
comb	peinar	send	enviar
complain	quejarse	sign	firmar
cough	toser	sing	cantar
count	contar	sit	sentarse
cut	cortar	sleep	dormir
dance	bailar	smoke	fumar
draw	dibujar	speak	hablar
drink	beber	spell	deletrear
drive	conducir	spend	gastar
eat	comer	stand	ponerse de pie
explain	explicar	start/begin	comenzar
fall	caerse	study	estudiar
fill	llenar	succeed	tener exito
find	encontrar	swim	nadar
finish	terminar	take	* tomar
fit	caber	talk	hablar
fix	reparar	teach	enseñar
fly	volar	tell	decir
forget	olvidar	think	pensar
give	dar	translate	traducir
go	ir	travel	viajar
have	tener	try	intentar
hear	oir	turn off	apagar
hurt	dañar, herir	turn on	encender
know	saber/conocer	type	escribir a máquina
learn	aprender	understand	entender
leave	salir/marcharse	use	utilizar/usar
listen	escuchar	wait	esperar
live	vivir	wake up	despertar
look	mirar	want	querer/desear
lose	perder	watch	mirar
make/do	hacer	work	trabajar
need	necesitar	worry	preocuparse
open	abrir	write	escribir

Not really. In fact, understanding the answer to that seemingly simple question is one of the more difficult problems facing many Spanish students.

Por and para, frequently are used for the English word "for." Here are the basic rules for por and para uses:

Uses for por:

Indicating means of transportation: Viajo por avión. I travel by plane.

Introducing the agent of an action after a passive verb: Leo un libro escrito escrito por Dr. Oz

Expressing movement along, through, around, by or about: Decido caminar por el parque. I decide to walk through the park.

Denoting a time or duration when something occurs. Camine por dos horas. I walked for 2 hours.

Expressing the cause (like "due to", or "because of", not the purpose) of an action: Me caí por la nieve. I fell down because (due to) of the snow.

Meaning per: Perdi Diez por ciento de mi peso. I lost 10 percent of by weight.

Meaning supporting or in favor of: Trabajamos por los derechos humanos. We work for human rights.

Used in numerous expressions: Por ejemplo. For example. Por favor. Please.

Meaning for the purpose of or in order to: Para bailar la bamba, se necesita una poca de gracia. In order to dance the bamba you need a little grace.

With a noun or pronoun as object, meaning for the benefit of or directed to: Es para usted. It's for you.

Meaning to or in the direction of when referring to a specific place: Voy para Europa. I'm heading to Europe.

Meaning by or for when referring to a specific time: Necesito el regalo para mañana. I need the gift for tomorrow. Vamos a la casa de mi madre para el fin de semana. We're going to my mother's for the weekend.

Some ideas to make it easier to remember words:

1. English words ending in "tion", like construction, imagination, nation, relation, solution,, etc... would be ending in "cion" in Spanish. For example, Construccion, imaginacion, nacion, relacion, and they are always female words (isn't it nice to have an "always" rule in Spanish?

) So: La construccion, la inaginacion, la nacion, relacion, la solucion.