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The passive voice is a structure more commonly used in Spanish than in English. In this structure, unlike the active voice, the subject of the main verb of the sentence is not the ‘doer’ of the action of the verb, but rather, the ‘receiver’ of the action.
There are two verbs which translate as “to be” in English. They are used quite distinctively and using the wrong one can significantly change the meaning of a sentence, or render it nonsensical.
Por and Para can both occasionally, under specific circumstances, be translated into English as “for.” This can clearly lead to some confusion, but their use is quite distinct in Spanish nonetheless.
A basic distinction is that para is used when looking forward in time or space, the focus being on destination or end result (not the process).
Por is used when focussing on origin, or cause, or the actual passage through time and physical space. There are, of course, exceptions when viewed from a north american cultural perspective, but learning to “feel” the distinction between their use can actually lend insight into the spanish cultural perspective.
There are essentially only 3 rules on the use of accents in Spanish, and they’re fairly easy to learn.
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