Pour (for) in Various Contexts

pour is a preposition. This means its job is to connect words. It usually sits right before a noun or a verb. It tells the listener why something is happening. Are you buying a gift? Use pour. Are you traveling to Lyon? Use pour. Are you studying to pass an exam? Use pour again. The beauty of this word is its simplicity. There are no masculine or feminine versions. You don't have to worry about plural forms either. It is just pour, every single time. It acts like a directional arrow in your sentence. It points toward a person, a place, or a purpose. Yes, even native speakers mess up prepositions sometimes, but pour is one of the easier ones to master. Think of it like a grammar traffic light showing you the way forward.

1. 1Using pour is straightforward. You follow these simple steps:
2. 2Start with your main action or statement (e.g., J'achète un cadeau).
3. 3Add the word pour.
4. 4Follow up with a recipient: pour + Person (e.g., pour Marie).
5. 5Or follow up with a purpose: pour + Verb in the infinitive (e.g., pour manger).
6. 6Or follow up with a destination: pour + Place (e.g., pour Paris).
7. 7Or follow up with a duration: pour + Time period (e.g., pour une semaine).
8. 8Remember, if you use a verb after pour, it must be the "to" form. Never conjugate it. It is pour parler, not pour je parle. This is a golden rule in French!

You will use pour in four main scenarios. First, use it for recipients. If you have a coffee for a friend, say un café pour toi. Second, use it for purpose. Why are you here? Pour apprendre le français. Third, use it for destinations. This is very common at train stations. Look for signs saying Le train pour Marseille. Finally, use it for planned duration. This is for future events. If you are visiting Montreal for a month, use pour un mois. It’s like telling your boss you’re taking a vacation; you have a clear start and end point in mind. Imagine you are in a restaurant. You want to order a salad for yourself. You simply say, Une salade pour moi, s'il vous plaît. It’s efficient and polite.

This is where things get a bit tricky. Do not use pour for past durations. If you lived in Paris for three years in the past, use pendant. Pour is only for things that are intended or future-focused. Also, do not use pour to mean "because." If you want to give a reason with a full sentence, use parce que. Another trap is the English phrase "for" when asking for something. In French, the verb demander already includes the "for." So, you say Je demande un café, not Je demande pour un café. Think of it like this: pour is about the goal, not the history. If you're looking back at your life, leave pour out of the time talk.

The biggest mistake is following pour with a conjugated verb. You might want to say "for I go," but in French, it must be "for to go." Always use the infinitive. Another common slip is using pour for every "for" in English. Language isn't a 1:1 map. For example, "I have been here for an hour" uses depuis, not pour. Also, watch out for the par versus pour confusion. Par is often about the "how" (by/through), while pour is about the "why." If you say Je passe pour la porte, people will look at you funny. It should be par la porte. It’s like trying to put diesel in a petrol car; it just won't run smoothly.

Let’s compare pour and par. Pour looks at the finish line. Par looks at the path you took to get there. If you do something pour quelqu'un, you do it for their benefit. If you do it par quelqu'un, you did it through them. Now, let’s look at pour versus pendant. Imagine you are planning a trip. "I am going for three days" is pour trois jours. But once you are back home, "I was there for three days" becomes pendant trois jours. Pour is the intention; pendant is the reality that already happened. It’s like the difference between a grocery list and a receipt.