Amigo Spanish

Google, Twitter and Spanish users

2009-06-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

Google estaría construyendo un buscador de 'twitteos' - reads a post on a website that purports to be all about Google in Spanish. (acerca de google en español). Quite a fascinating site for a Google power user learning Spanish it's possible to learn twice as much at one time!

The Great Wall of Spanish

2009-04-29T11:18:00.001-07:00

In a class I recently attended, the topic was Spanish indirect object pronouns, a heretofore difficult subject for me - and one of my fellow students spoke of her time in an immersion program in San Miguel de Allende. Her teacher there described the inability for English speakers to understand them as "The Great Wall of Spanish" - those students that got over the wall and understood how to use them, were basically on their way to full conversational fluency in Spanish. I want to climb that wall. Quiero subir aquella pared.

I'm not quite to the top yet, but I've found myself using them more, and hearing them spoken. I get it: Darme isn't some new word I haven't seen or heard before it's dar-me: give me. Puedo hacerlo! ¡Démelos, por favor! ¿Tengo que practicarlos más, verdad?

ME to/for me
TE to/for you
LE, to/for you, to/for him, to/for her
NOS, to/for us
LES, to/for upu (plural), to/for them

Verbs that require indirect object pronouns are easy to spot - if you can say "to" or "for" after the verb in English, it takes "le" in Spanish. por ejemplo:
I spoke to him: Le hablé.
I sang to her: Le canté.
I bought for him: Le compré.
However it doesn't sound right to say:
I visited to her.
I invite to him.
I kissed to her.
So these types of verbs take "lo" or "la", not "le".
I visited her: La visité.
I invite him: Lo invito.
I kissed her: la besé.

Test the verb: if you can say to/for with it, then it take LE.

Another aspect about using LE is that in Spanish you must use both the noun and the pronoun with verbs that take "le". Por ejemplo:
I wrote to my mother: Le escribé a mi madre.
Literally you are saying "To her I wrote to my mother" notice that the "a" is a personal a and not "to".
It works the same when asking a question.
¿Le compró una camisa a su primo? Did you buy a shirt for your cousin?

Things get a bit more complicated when you combine pronouns, ¿pero bastante ya, verdad?

The Personal A in Spanish

2009-03-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

Use of the personal a is unique to Spanish and is not included when translating into English (or another language). It is only used to refer to a person, and can be thought of as a more respectful way to acknowledge another person - that is to say that an individual is more important (to you) than say their house.

Por ejemplo:
Yo amo a Lucy - I love Lucy
Yo amo la casa de Lucy - I love Lucy's house.
Buscó a mi hermanas - He looked for my sisters.
Miramos a Jorge lugar fútbol - we watch George play football.
Miramos una película anoche - we watched a movie last night.

Excepciones:
Spanish does not use the personal a with the verbs ser (to be), tener (to have), or hay (there is, are):
Jose es columbiano - Joe is Columbian.
Tengo tres tios - I have three uncles.
Hay una chica en la casa - There is a girl in the house.

You do not use a persoanl a when the direct object is an unspecified person:
Espero un amigo bueno - I'm waiting for a good friend.
Necesito un trabajador concienzudo para ayudarme - I need a hard worker to help me.

Spanish Visual Dictionary

2009-02-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

As I've mentioned in previous posts the local library is a good place to expand your learning of Spanish - and the children's section can be a great source for easy to read books in Spanish along bilingual stories that ensure your comprehension. Another reference work that I like to check out is The Firefly Spanish-English Junior Visual Dictionary. This is a pretty entertaining way to expand your vocabulary as well as your mind.

Being a visual learner (and, besides, I like the illustrations) I think this a better way for me to lock the association of an image and a word into my brain. Here are four flying friends that would be good to ID should you need to tell the front desk about a bothersome infestation "en su habitación"!

1001 Most Useful Spanish Words

2009-02-01T20:30:00.000-08:00

A very declarative title for this post, and not really one I think I could ever make. It's actually a title for a very worn, almost tattered, book in my collection that in itself has proved useful to me. As one strives to expand one's vocabulary, one may be tempted to read a dictionary, but this can get old really fast and usually it's not presented in a context that solidifies comprehension. What I like about Seymor Resnick's little tome is that every word in it is presented in an example sentence, and many of them are just a bit dry or quirky (we're not sure if dry and quirky were Seymour's intent). A few examples:
Pecado. m. sin No es un pacado tan grave. It is not such a serious sin.
Vida f. life ¿Qué es la vida? La vida es sueño. What is life? Life is but a dream.
Asado roasted Me gustan las castañas asadas. I like roasted chestnuts.
Cuerpom. body Sacaron varios cuerpos después de la explosción. They carried out serveral bodies after the explosion.
Tirar to throw, pull No tires arena, chico. Don't throw sand, kid.

I really came upon this book in a roundabout way - I was making a purchase a few years ago on Amazon.com and was a few dollars short to qualify for free shipping - Seymour stepped in to help me with this low price keeper. And he's helping me still. ¡Muchas gracias, Seymour!

Ponerse La Pilas - Spanish Idioms

2009-01-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I ponder how phrases, particularly the slangier ones, might translate into Spanish. Obviously some cannot make the cut with a literal translation. Take "to bite off more than one can chew" - literally that would come out as "morder más de un puede masticar" but blurt that out and your amigos might think that you are " loco en la cabeza", but they'd get your drift if you said "miterse en camisa de once varas", literally to "put yourself in a shirt of eleven rods".

There are "many ways to skin a cat" but it's not one that can be translated into Spanish literally with any sort of comprehension. Many English/American phrases have an equivalent in Spanish that conveys a similar concept but can't be transliterated - take our expression "have your your cake and eat it too". A friend tells me the counterpart in Italian is "your wife's drunk but the cask is full" expresses the same concept. I can't find Spanish equivalents for this idiom or for cat skinning...if a reader knows them, please comment.

So "get with it" (ponerse las pilas) and find out what your favorite idioms are and how you might express them in Spanish.

Los Libros de Niños - Books for Children

2008-12-31T20:38:00.000-08:00

I enjoy the challenge of reading in Spanish - it certainly can be a vocabulary expander and it also can be very satisfying when you precisely figure out the meanings. Especially so when you don't have to do any translating, you just read and get it.

Unfortunately, my vocab is still on the small side, perhaps 2000 plus words, so serious articles and long stories are a bit difficult - it's just too slow to really enjoy. So my buddy Scott at Bike-RX here in Mill Valley, suggested I read stories for children - ¡Qué idea tan buena! Pensé. So I a few days ago I hit the children's section at the local library and selected a few books of interest. On my way home, while making a detour for coffee, I ran into another student from "mi esculela" Spanish in Marin, Andrea, and told her about my "discovery". As you can read from the email she sent below, she found it as engaging as I:

"Muchas gracias por tu idea – el próximo día, yo fui a la biblioteca en Mill Valley y saque ocho libros para niños en español que estoy leyendo ahora.

Aquí son dos ejemplos del libro que se llama ¿Qué Sera? (What Can It Be) – un libro de los acertijos (riddles) tradicionales:

Una dama muy hermosa con un vestido de oro, siempre volviendo la cara, ya para un lado, ya para otro – A very beautiful lady, wearing a dress of gold, is always turning her face, now to this side, now to the other [La Luna]

Pájaro pinto paso por el mar; ni el viento ni el agua lo pudo alcanzar – A brilliant bird flashed o’er the sea; neither wind nor water could overtake it [El Relampago – Lightning]"

Books for children are also good for adults - Los libros de niños están también bien para Adultos.

Informal and Polite Spanish Greetings

2008-12-14T08:27:00.001-08:00

As we wrote in the last entry, the interchange of greetings between individuals who interact more than just once tend to have some variety and depending on who it is, a varying degree of formaility or informality. This is especially true in Spanish. Below is an hypothetical disourse borrowed form a great book I've read and re-read numerous times called "Breaking Out Beginner's Spanish" by Joe Keenan. His example imagines the arrival of Juan Doe, the assistant director of flange production, at his office. Let's assume for simplicity's sake that every male at the factory has the name Alberto Alvarez and every female Teresa Ruiz.

• The eighty-year-old doorman
Buenos días, Don Alberto.

• The security guard:
Buenos días.

• The sixty-year-old elevator operator:
¿Cómo le va, Dona Tere?

• The receptionist:
Hola, Tere. ¿Cómo estás?

• A same-aged colleague in the hall:
¿Qué tal, Alberto?

• A younger colleague at her desk:
Buenos días, Tere. ¿Qué hay de nuevo?

• A visiting branch manager:
Buenos días, Señora Ruiz. ¿Cómo le va?

• A co-worker and best friend:
¿Quiúbole, Beta?

• The immediate boss:
Hola, Alberto. ¿Cómo estás?

• An older co-worker:
¿Qué me cuenta, Don Alberto?

• An employee:
Buenos días, Alberto. ¿Cómo estamos?

• The division director:
Muy buenos días,Señor Alvarez. ¿Cómo le va?

• The office boy:
¿Qué pasó, Beta?

• The factory owner and CEO:

Buenos días, Don Alberto. ¿Cómo está usted?

• The secretary:
Buenos días, Tere. ¿Qué tal?

By now it's time for Juan's coffee break....

¡Feliz Navidad!

2008-12-10T16:31:00.000-08:00

Spanish Greetings - Hola

2008-12-09T15:47:00.000-08:00

Most people are generally polite and wish to make a good impression - in English we have numerous ways of expressing greetings, some formal, some slang. As one might expect Spanish is similiar, and you're probably well practiced in the standard "buenos días" and "buenas tardes" along with the perfuctory exchanges, "¿Cómo está?" followed by "Muy bien, gracias". So what else can you say? What's the equivilant of "How's it going? Here's a brief list of the other things you can safely say, particulary to those you see more than once in your life.

"¿Cómo estás?" is the tu form of How are you. Right, you knew this.
"¿Cómo le va?" How's it going? or try the more familiar, "¿Cómo te va?"
"¿Cómo estamos?" How are we?
"¿Qué tal?" What's up?
"¿Qué hay?" or "¿Qué pasa?" What's happening?
"¿Qué hubo?" and "¿Qué onda?" How's it going? and What's happening? Mexico

Next post we'll order greeting in a hierarchy of ascending formality.

Typing Spanish Accents - MAC

2008-11-05T18:52:00.000-08:00

Here is the method for using Spanish accents without switching languages for your keyboard when using an MAC computer:

To get accents on the Mac, hold down the OPTION key, and while holding it down, type the letter e; then release those keys and type the letter that you want the accent to appear on:

á = Opt + e, then a

é = Opt + e, then e

í = Opt + e, then i

ó = Opt + e, then o

ú = Opt + e, then u

For the ñ, hold down the Option key while you type the n; release and type n again.
ñ = Opt + n, then n
To make inverted punctuation marks do the following:
¡ = Opt + 1
¿ Opt + shift + ?

Expresiones de Tiempo

2008-10-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

Often we want to describe an action that began in the past and is still occuring. "I have been doing somthing for...". To do this in Spanish the following constuctions can be used:

Hace + the period of time + que + verb
Hace tres años que vivo en La Paz.

Verb + hace + period of time
Vivo en La Paz hace tres años.

Verb + desde hace + period of time
Vivo en La Paz desde hace tres años.

Each of these can mean "I've been living in La Paz for three years." In English we call this the present perfect tense - note that in Spanish the present tense is used. Each of these variations answers the question :

¿Cuánto tiempo hace que + verb? ¿Cuánto tiempo hace que vives en La Paz?

In order to express the concept of since we construct as follows:

¿Desde cuándo + verb? ¿Desde cuándo vives en La Paz?
Since when have you been iving in La Paz.

Verb + desde + past time reference
Vivo en La Paz desde abril
I have been living in La PAz since April.

To add extra emphasis you can place the verb into the present progressive to stress a continuation:
Estoy esperando desde las dos - I have been waiting since two o'clock.

Cuál or Qué - Which or What to use?

2008-10-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

At times another difficult pair to choose from - which (cuál?) or what (qué?) to user. Well it's much like English, but then again it's not.

First of all is to notice whether either word is accented - if they have accents, then they are undoubtably being used in questions and are not connecting words, where their meaning is different. When used in this manner their formally referred to as "Interrogatory Pronouns". Go that? They can refer to people (either gender) or things, and in the plural cuál becomes cuáles. As indicated above, qué generally indicates what and cuál which. Here's a some examples that might make it simpler to understand when (cuando) to use each.

Cuál usually is used before es and other forms of ser when not seeking a definition:

¿Cuál es el problema? What is the problem?
¿Cuáles son las ciudades más grandes en Peru? What are the biggest cities in Peru?
¿Cuál es su dirección? What is your address?

To use Cuál is to suggest a selection or choice from among a group:

¿Cuál miras? Which one are you looking at? However to be less specific you might say, ¿Qué miras? What are you looking at?
¿Cuál prefieres? Which one do you prefer? But generally speaking, ¿Qué prefieres? What do you prefer?
¿Cuáles quieres? Which ones do you want? Or, ¿Qué quieres? What do you want?
¿Cuál es el más caro? Which is the most expensive? or plurally, ¿Cuáles son los más caros? Which are the most expensive?

Qué is used when asking a definition.

¿Qué hace un pescador? What does a fisherman do?
¿Qué es una ferreteriá? What is a hardware store?
¿Qué significa "vaquero"? What does "vaquero" mean?

Normally Qué is most often used before nouns (however cuál isn't necessarily wrong and you'll hear it sometimes used to mean "which"):

¿Qué revista leíste? Which magazine did you read?
¿De qué color es la falda? What color is the skirt?
¿Qué cuarto prefieres? Which room do you prefer?

Common idiomatic uses of Qué are:

¿Qué hora es? What time is it?
¡Qué lástima! What a shame!
¡Qué día más horrible! What a horrible day!
¡Qué susto! What a fright!
¡Qué hermoso! How beautiful!
¡Qué bonito! How pretty!
¿Qué tanto? How much?
¿Y qué? ¿Y a mí qué? So what?
¿Para qué? ¿Por qué? Why?

Learn more

Lejos y Largo

2008-10-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

These are two words that I got mixed up about and/or use incorrectly in the past but I finally have gotten them straightened out - I think.

Largo is especially tricky as it’s one of those false cognates that can trip you so easily in Spanish – the tendency is to access the English side of your brain when you see this word and think LARGE! – No so, it means long in Spanish – and here's what helps me know it a different way – I think of the Florida Keys, and the island called Key Largo (made more famous from the Bogart/Bacall film of the same name). Key comes from the Spanish cayo, meaning islet, and of course, largo, meaning long and Key Largo is the longest of the keys at 33 miles.

Largo is used thusly:
• ¿Cómo es de largo? - How long is it?
• Estarle largo a alguien - to be too long for.
• Él estuvo enfermo un largo tiempo - he was sick a long time.
• Media hora largo - a good half hour.
• Pasar de largo - to pass by

Lejos means far away or distant and is commonly used in these ways:
• A lo lejos - At a distance.
• ¿Está lejos? Is it Far?
• ¡Eso queda muy lojos - That's a long way away!
• ¡Eso queda ya lojos - That happened a long time ago!
• Vivo lejos del centro - I live far away from downtown.
• Lejos de mejorar - Far from getter better.

Saber or Conocer

2008-09-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

This is another tough concept for a gringo to get his arms around, not to mention his ears and mind - it ranks right up there with ser and estar in comprehension difficulty. These are a couple of verbs that will show native speakers if you really know your Spanish (and if you thought, "Yo se español", then you do know!).

SABER

To know something by heart:
Yo sé un poema de Octavio Paz.

To know a fact:
Ella sabe que San José es la ciudad más grande en Costa Rica.

To know how to do something:
Yo sé concinar frijoles.

CONOCER

To be familiar or acquainted with someone:
Nosotros conocemos Juan Garciá.

To be acquainted with a place:
Ellos conocen Cuba bien.

To acquainted with an artist or writer's work:
¿Tu conoces la poesiá de Octavio Paz?

Expresiones con los Sentidos (Expressions with the Senses)

2008-08-14T09:53:00.001-07:00

Echar un ojo: (to keep an eye on something/someone)
Vigilar: "Echa un ojo al niño, que está en el jardín sólo."
To keep watch of, to guard: "Keep an eye on the kid, he's alone in the garden."

Ser todo oídos:(to be all ears)
Estar dispuesto a escuchar a alguien: "Cuéntame lo que ha pasado. Soy todo oídos.
To be willing to listen to someone: "Tell me what happened, I'm all ears."

A vista de pájaro: (a bird's eye view)
Ver algo desde una perspectiva a?rea: "Tengo una foto de Salamanca a vista de pájaro."
See something from an aerial perspective: "I have a picture from a bird's eye view of Salamanca."

No tener tacto: (to be untactful, tactless)
No ser delicado a la hora de hablar: "Luis no tiene tacto. Le dijo a María que había engordado."
To be undelicate in speaking or dealing with others: "Luis has no tact. He told Maria she had gotten fat."

Echar un vistazo: (to take a look)
Mirar algo sin detenimiento: "Echa un vistazo al informe, a ver si te gusta."
Glance at something without looking at it carefully: "Take a quick look at this report to see if you like it."

No tener pelos en la lengua: Decir la verdad sin ser delicado: "María le dijo a Luis lo que pensaba. Ya sabes que no tiene pelos en la lengua."
To speak the truth without being delicate or without restriction. To be straight-forward: "Maria told Luis what she thought. You know she doesn't bite her tongue"

Courtesy of Don Quijote Spanish Lesson of the Week

Romancing in Spanish

2008-07-18T21:35:00.000-07:00

So you're single and traveling in Mexico or Latin America, perhaps alone - really the better way to absorb the language and culture of a country. So what happens if/when a potential romantic situation presents itself. Few, if any, high school or college Spanish courses even get near that subject, even the basics, such as the use of quiero can mean love in intimate situations/relationships. So one way you can find out is the tried and true trial and error method (el metod), but why bumble your way when a little study can improve your chances of getting to first base (and beyond). I'd like to give credit to the Lonely Planet's Mexican Spanish phrasebook, from which many of these expression come - it's entertaining, it's the right size, it has phonetic pronunciations and it has very few errors - and it's a bargain @ $7.99. Perhaps the only drawback is that many of the phrases are Aussie! So let's get on with it...and start with some classic pick-up lines (you're on your own for something better).

Would you like to have a drink? ¿Te invitio una copa?
Do you have a light? ¿Tienes fósforo? or ¿Tienes encendedor?
What's your sign? ¿Cuál es tu signo? (since you're obviously trying to become familiar here, you can shortcut the more formal su)
Would you like to do something tonight? ¿Quisera hacer algo anoche?
Yes, I'd love to Sí, me encantaria
Of course, what took you so long? ¿Claro, qué le tomó tan mucho tiempo?
or perhaps the reply might be a disappointing
Not if you were the last person on earth! ¡Ni nunque fueras la última persona en e mundo!
Other rejections might be more straight forward, such as
Sorry, but I have a boyfriend/girlfriend Siento, pero tengo un novio/una novia or
No thanks, I'm not interested No gracias, no estoy interestante or even something as harsh as
Get lost, you loser! ¡Ser perdidos, tu eres un perdedo!

Increasing Your Spanish Fluency

2008-06-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of ways to increase your Spanish fluency courtesy of Explore and Retire in Mexico

Make the effort to read or listen to Spanish for at least 10 to 20 minutes each day (and if possible, speak, even to yourself).

Television: Watch Spanish language television. Telenovelas (Spanish Soap Operas) are a good choice because the characters have a tendency to speak a bit slower for dramatic effect. News programs are also helpful as you can often infer meaning from the program's context.

Community Education Programs: Local junior colleges or high schools havecommunity education programs day and evening. Typical offerings are "Conversational Spanish" (usually in 3-8 quater/semester segements) and more focused and shorter classes susch as "Spanish for Travelers". Don’t be afraid to mix it up or repeat a class. It’s good to get exposured to variety teaching methods as you start your Spanish learning to find one you're comfortable with.

Start a Local Conversational Group: Place an ad on a community billboard (online too! Use craigslist.org if you’re in a metro area).

Rent Spanish language DVDs: This method has some good options - you have control - watch with or without English sub-titles. Repeat segments. many libraries also carry dual/multi language DVD - you can check them out longer and they're usually free.

The Library: While it seems so old school, most libraries have foreign language CDs or tapes. CDs can be ripped into MP3 files and you can listen to them on an iPod or in your car.

Go online to Borders or Amazon: they have a huge inventory of Spanish books, a few of which I have used personally and are listed below.

Latin Music: On of the most influential sources of musical inspiration, whether it be Son Jarocho, Tango or Tex-Mex, there is a tremendous amount of great Latino music out there. For translations of the lyrics just type in the song and/or some of the lyrics into a search box and you’ll probably find the both Spanish and English versions to follow along with.

Volunteer for an ESL program: As more and more Hispanic migrants arrive in this country, the need for assimilation grows. Volunteering as an ESL teacher or assistant will give you vital interaction with native speakers of Spanish – people eager to learn your language and culture as well as share their culture with you.

The Internet: True, you’re reading this because you're ON the Internet and you've found this blog post. One useful resource is Spanish.About.com. I'll be adding more in the future.

Some Snappy Answers

2008-06-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

A few years back I came across a very fascinating book that I frequently go back to whenever I feel stuck in a rut with my Spanish learning. I use it as a sort of sampler to expand my horizons, to get in the vernacular of the language maybe so I might feel more like a local (¡Seguro! meaning yeah, right). It's called "Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish" and the author is a gringo and longtime Mexican resident Joseph Keenan. He has a very keen sense of humor, making amusing points in regards to incorrect usage. I highly recommend it.

The chapters in Mr. Keenan's book have very amusing and compelling titles, and I'll mine a favorite of mine called "Snappy Answers" for today's blog post.

¿Como? - A great ways to mildly suggest disbelief - such as when a taxista informs you the fare is going to be $100 to get to the airport. You say ¡Como! - this is a politer way of saying what the.... You can try adding decir to it for some embellishment, ¿Como dijo? or ¡Como dice!
¿Y Que - Essentially "So What?" - here your inflection denotes the level rudeness to want to convey, if the situation is friendly, it comes off as "What's the point" ¿Y eso que? is another variation.
N'ombre - An abbreviation of No hombre, it sounds more like nombre, a slangy way of saying no way with a fair amount of emphasis or surprise.
Ni Loco - Notching up "no way" to a more insistent level using this term - as in in even if I was crazy I wouldn't jaywalk across that street in rush hour. Remember to match the gender with the action - Ni loca, ni locos, ni locas.

Some Spanish Useful Phrases

2008-06-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

I always like picking up useful idioms or descriptive phrases that aren't usually included in most formal curriculum or textbooks. Here are few that I'm trying to incorporate in my everyday use (or at least if I'm afforded the opportunity).

Asi es - the way it is. Asi es la vida.
Está bien - Literally "it is good" but it's also a better way to say "okay" as some English uses of okay can't be Spanglished with okay. Also good for meaning all right. So when I say to I'll call you later, you can say Está bien or even slangier you can say 'tá bien.
Claro - generally defined as meaning "of course", another more casual way is to regard it is as meaning "sure"
Para nada - no way. Your reply when I ask you if you want hear me sing.
Ya basta - enough already, or "cut it out" if I ask again.
En este momento - at this moment...and it's companion, en ese momento - at that moment.

¿Para o Por? ¿Cuál usar?

2008-06-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

When to use por and when to use para? This is still somewhat of a confusing issue for me - sometimes I really have to think hard to choose the correct usage, other times it's a bit of a wild guess when I'm unsure of the usage bucket (concept) it falls into. However I do have it down at the nearby taco shop as I can usually say "para aquí" before they ask if I want for here or to go!

So here are the buckets that helped me sort the uses out - let's start by looking at the emytology of the root words that form para and por - por comes from the Latin root pro and means for - that's pretty straight forward. Think pro bono, meaning "for good". Para comes from pro plus ad, meaning to. So her goes:

The uses of Por:

Tiempo de límite - a time period (during, in, for) - Están aquí por una semana - They are here for a week. Trabajo por la noche - I work at night.
Por medio de - through or by means of (along, by, around) - Él pasó por su casa - He passed by your house. Llegué por autobús - I arrived by bus.
A cuasa de - because of (on account of, on behalf of) - No fui por el frío a Nueva York - I didn't go to New York because of the cold.
A cambio de - in exchange for - Pago 20 dólares para el libro - I paid $20 for the book.
En medidas - in measurements (by, per, for) - Sesenta millas por hora - Sixty miles per hour. Recibí un descuento de 20 por ciento - I got a 20 percent discount.
En busca de - in search of, for - Voy a venir por ti a las siente - I'll cll come by for you at seven.

The uses of Para:

Destino - destination - Salí para Arizona hoy - I left for Arizona today.
Futuro objetivo - future goal (by or for a certain time) - Quiero el coche para el lunes - I want the car for Monday. Debo estar allí para el mes de febrero - I must be there by the month of February.
Para quien o qué algo es - whom or what something is for - Compré una cama nueva para mi sala - I bought a new bed for my room. Él compra flores cada día para su madre - he buys flowers every day for his mother.
A fin de a - in order to - Él necesita más dinero para pagar el viaje a Mérida. - He needs more money inorder to pay fr the trip to Merida.
Proposito corriente - current goal - Mi esposa estudia para médica - My wife is studying to be a doctor.

Once you feel you've mastered the nuances, take this quiz at spanish.about.com