by Max Wheeler
14.1.4.1 Per and per a with noun phrase complements
(i) Per expresses:
(a) Locative ‘through’, ‘via’, ‘by’, ‘over’, ‘about’:
El tirà per la finestra.
She threw it out of (lit. through) the window.
de Barcelona a Lleida per Igualada
from Barcelona to Lleida via Igualada
Anava venent pels pobles.
He went around the villages selling, (lit. He went selling through the villages.)
Eren pels camps.
They were (around/about) in the fields.
(b) Temporal ‘during’, ‘sometime in’, ‘for the length of’:
Pel gener hi fa molt fred. In January it is very cold there, (not necessarily throughout January)
Tornaran per la sega. They will return at/around harvest time.
L’hi vaig llogar per un any. I rented it to her for a year.
Note expressions like per la tarda ‘(sometime) in the afternoon’, per la nit ‘(sometime) at night’ are judged incorrect, a la tarda, a la nit being preferred.
(c) Instrument/manner/cause: ‘by’, ‘through’:
Ho han tramès per correu. They sent it by post.
T’ho han dit per broma. They said it to you as a joke.
vendre-ho per peces to sell it by the piece
Per prudència no faria mai res. Through caution he would never do anything.
El vaig agafar per les mans. I took him by the hands.
(d) Agent, including generally the agent of passive constructions:
Li ho vaig fer dir per l’advocat.
I communicated it to her through the lawyer. (lit. I made it said to her by the lawyer.)
Ha estat mort pels seus mateixos partidaris.
He has been killed by his own supporters.
l’arbre abatut pel vent
the tree blown down by the wind
On de instead of per expressing the agent of a passive in certain cases, see 29.1.2.
(e) Distribution:
un paquet per viatger one piece of luggage per passenger
(f) Exchange, substitution:
Tu fes-li preguntes i jo contestaré per ell.
You ask him questions and I’ll reply for him/on his behalf.
L’han venut per no-res.
They have sold it for next to nothing.
(g) Predicative: ‘as’, ‘for’:
Em van prendre pel meu germà. They took me for my brother.
Tothom el tenia per lladre. Everyone took him as/to be a thief.
El van deixar per mort. They left him for dead.
(h) Favour/consideration: ‘for’, ‘for the sake of’:
S’ha interessat per tu. He has taken an interest on your behalf.
per l’amor de Déu! for God’s sake/for the love of God
Per mi, ja te’n pots anar. As far as I’m concerned, you may leave.
Jo estic per ell, i no per tu. I am on his side, not on yours.
És molt alta per l’edat que té. She is very tall for her age/considering her age.
(j) Motive: ‘because of’, the motivating factor is in existence before the act that it motivates:
Tot ho fem per la pàtria. We do it all for our country.
treballar per la justícia social work for social justice
(i) Per a expresses:
(a) Beneficiary:
Han fet una tribuna per als convidats.
They have made a platform for the guests.
un paquet per al veí de dalt
a parcel for the neighbour upstairs
(b) Destination/goal/purpose (including temporal and locative ‘destination’):
seients reservats per als invàlids seats reserved for the disabled
(The distinction between per and per a suggested in this section allows a contrast between for example un aparell dissenyat per a minusvàlids ‘a device designed for disabled people’ and un aparell dissenyat per minusvàlids ‘a device designed by disabled people’.)
No és bo per a res. It isn’t good for anything.
No tenim temps per a res. We haven’t got time for anything.
esperit de vi per a cremar alcohol for burning
N’encarregarem un per a dijous. We’ll order one for Thursday.
Ho deixarem per a més endavant. We’ll leave it for later.
A les vuit surt un tren per a Madrid. At 8 o’clock a train leaves for Madrid.
Per a mi va ser una sorpresa total. It came as a complete surprise to me.
The complements of molt ‘a lot’, massa ‘too (much)’, and prou ‘enough’ probably belong here too:
Tenen prou exemplars per a tothom.
They have enough copies for everyone.
Són massa diners per a nosaltres.
It is too much money for us.
14.1.4.2 Per/per a with infinitive complements
When the complement of the preposition is an infinitive, in principle the same distinctions apply as in 14.1.4.1, However, the distinction between ‘motive’ (= per 14.1.4.1i(j)) and ‘destination/goal/purpose’ (= per a 14.1.4.1ii(b)) is a subtle one, and it is this range of meaning that is involved in most of the infinitival clauses. The constructions we are dealing with here (per or per a + infinitive) are adjuncts of verbs or nominalized verbs. The numbering of functions corresponds to that in 14.1.4.1, It is with infinitive complements that Coromines, followed by Solà, recommended the use of per to cover all the senses mentioned here.
(i) Per
(c) Expressing manner or instrument:
Començo per recordar que demà no hi haurà classe.
I begin by reminding (you) that there will be no class tomorrow.
per posar un exemple
to mention an example
Molts autors, per no dir la majoria, creuen que …
Many authors, not to say the majority, believe …
(c) Expressing cause: ‘because of’, ‘as a result of’ (= pel fet de). (Coromines and Solà reject this construction, at least with simple infinitives, as being unauthentic, but Ruaix shows that it is widely used.)
Ho diu per haver-ho sentit.
She says it as a result of hearing it said.
imposar multes per aparcar malament
impose fines for improper parking
L’han tancat a la presó per robar un cotxe.
They have locked him up for stealing (i.e. having stolen) a car.
Those who find the above example unauthentic recommend the use of a compound infinitive, if the sense allows:
L’han tancat a la presó per haver robat un cotxe.
When the reason persists, rather than just preceding its effect, of course, the compound (perfect) infinitive does not work; here those who reject the per + infinitive pattern insist on perquè ‘because’ with a finite verb.
Odiava la competitivitat per creure que era la causa de tots els problemes socials.
Odiava la competitivtat perquè creia que era la causa de tots els problemes socials.
He hated competitiveness because he believed it was the cause of all social problems.
Sometimes the sense ‘considering’, ‘despite’ is apparent (resembling the example given above, És molt alta per l’edat que té ‘She is very tall for her age’):
Per llegir tants llibres, poc saps.
Considering you read so many books, you don’t know much.
Per ser parenta nostra, no es porta gaire bé.
Considering she’s a relative of ours, she isn’t behaving very well.
(j) Expressing motive or intention (= per tal de, a fi de, amb la intenció de). The infinitive phrase is the adjunct of a verb or noun expressing voluntary action and the subject of the infinitive is understood to be the same as the subject of the main verb:
Treballa per guanyar-se la vida.
He works to earn a living.
Vine per veure’l.
I’ve come to see him.
la nostra anada a Girona per visitar els p
arents
our journey to Girona to visit relatives
un esforç per superar les dificultats
an effort to overcome the difficulties
No vaig voler dir res per no haver de discutir.
I didn’t want to say anything so as not to have to argue.
(See 33.3.2 for complement clauses whose subject is not that of the main verb.)
Per is required in the complement of certain verbs, adjectives and nouns, such as:
Verbs:
apostar per bet on
decidir-se per(not = decidir-se a decide in favour ofdecide to)
delir-se per long to
estar per pay attention to
Estigues per conduir. Concentrate on driving.
frisar/frissar per be impatient to, be in a hurry to
interessar-se per and interès per take an interest in/on behalf of interest in
S’interessa per saber com va anar l’experiment. She is interested to know how the experiment went.
maldar per strive to/struggle to
optar per opt to, choose to
and opció per choice to
preocupar-se per worry about
vetllar per watch over/take care of/make sure to
Cal que els poders públics vetllin per facilitar l’ensenyament en totes dues llengües. Public authorities must take care to facilitate teaching in both languages.
votar per vote for
Adjectives:
àvid per eager to
una societat àvida per modernitzar-se a society eager to modernize
impacient per impatient to
Nouns:
ambició per ambition to
curiositat per curiosity about
enveja per desire to
gust per taste for
obsessió per obsession with
l’obsessió del govern per aplicar mesures antiinflacionistes the government’s obsession with applying anti-inflationary measures
pressa per hurry to
pruïja per urge to, itch to
Per introducing a ‘future passive’ infinitive construction dependent on a noun:
Vostè té moltes coses per explicar. You have a lot of things to explain, (i.e. things to-be-explained)
El rei tenia tres filles per casar. The king had three daughters as yet unmarried.
problemes per resoldre problems to solve
Val més boig conegut que savi per conèixer. Better the devil you know …(lit. A known madman is worth more than a to-be-known wise man.)
(ii) Pera
Per a + infinitive expresses destination or purpose, after an expression without a volitional component, or with different (implied) subjects for main clause and subordinate infinitive (= de cara a ‘towards’, amb vista a ‘with a view to’, amb destinació a ‘directed to’):
Verbs of necessity, appropriateness, sufficiency, existence, insufficiency:
Calen arguments de pes per a convèncer-la.
Substantial arguments are necessary in order to persuade her.
Aquests diners són per a gastar-los durant les vacances.
This money is to spend (lit. it) during the holidays.
N’hi ha per a donar i per a vendre.
There is (enough) to give and to sell, i.e. there’s more than enough.
L’experiència d’avui basta per a renunciar-hi.
Today’s experience is sufficient to (make me) give it up.
Similarly depending on quantifier expressions:
És molt d’hora per a telefonar-li. It is very early to phone him.
És prou boig per a intentar-ho. He is mad enough to try it.
Verbs expressing use, preparation, etc.: in the case of verbs of ‘preparation’ one might say that the notion of destination overrides that of motive:
El telescopi serveix per a mirar objectes llunyans.
The telescope is used in order to look at distant objects.
Aprofito l’avinentesa per a expressar-li el meu sincer agraïment.
I take advantage of this opportunity to express to you my sincere gratitude.
Calders es preparà de jove per a ser narrador.
Calders prepared himself as a young man to be a writer of fiction.
estudiar per a ser metge
to study to be a doctor
Destination/purpose complements of non-verbal categories:
Tinc matèria per a ocupar-me’n llarga estona. I have material to keep me busy (lit. to occupy myself with it) for a long while.
Em falta corda per a lligar-ho. I am short of string to tie it with.
Aquesta fruita no és bona per a menjar. This fruit is not good to eat.
un producte útil per a netejar a product useful for cleaning (with)
Note:
Tine una màquina per a pintar. I have a machine for painting.
not = Tine una màquina per pintar. I have a machine to be painted.
Va empassar-se unes pastilles per a dormir. She took some sleeping tablets.
not = Va empassar-se unes pastilles per dormir. She took some tablets in order to sleep.
(In the first case per a dormir depends on pastilles, while in the second per dormir depends on va empassar-se (unes pastilles).)
Destination/purpose complements of impersonal, or passive verbs, or with vague subjects:
portatge: dret que es paga per a passar per certs llocs
portatge: a tax which is paid in order to pass through certain places
Per a estudiar tal punt, hem de distingir entre …
To investigate this point, we have to distinguish …
With infinitive subject not equivalent to main clause subject:
El govern de Filipines designa onze bisbes per a negociar amb la guerrilla comunista.
The Philippines government names eleven bishops to negotiate with the communist guerrillas.
Li va donar una carta per a tirar-la a la bústia.
He gave him a letter to put in the letter-box.
Per a to introduce verbal adjunct expressing posteriority (attenuated sense of destination):
Els cavalls varen reprendre el trot, per a guanyar, al cap d’una estona, el darrer repit de la costa.
The horses resumed their pace, to reach, after a short while, the last gradient on the coast, (i.e. resumed …and reached …)
14.1.5 WEAK PREPOSITIONS DROPPED BEFORE QUE (CONJUNCTION)
When a finite complement clause, beginning with que ‘that’, is the object of a weak preposition (including compound prepositions), the weak preposition is dropped. The question of ‘preposition drop’ is discussed in detail in 32.4–5.
A has been dropped in, e.g.:
S’exposa que el negoci vagi malament. He is taking the risk that the business will suffer.
gràcies que ella hi ha intervingut thanks to her having intervened in it
Amb has been dropped in, e.g.:
Vés amb compte que no t’embrutis. Take care that you don’t get dirty.
N’hi ha prou que en reproduïm una part. It is sufficient that we reproduce a part of it.
De has been dropped in, e.g.:
abans que es casessin before they got married
M’he adonat que ella era present. I have realized that she was present.
a causa que trigava tant because of the fact that it took so long
En has been dropped in, e.g.:
Pensa que has de venir. Take thought that you have to come.
Tinc interès que pugueu veure les pintures. I am concerned that you should be able to see the paintings.
Confia que se’n sortirà. She is confident she’ll get out of it.
Retention of weak prepositions before que is characteristic of non-standard Catalan, being more or less universal in spontaneous styles.
14.2 SIMPLE TONIC PREPOSITIONS
The use of these prepositions is primarily a matter for the dictionary.
14.2.1 NON-DERIVED PREPOSITIONS
com as
contra again
st
entre between, among
excepte except
fins up to, until
malgrat despite
pro in favour of, on behalf of
segons according to
sense without
ultra beyond, over and above (literary)
vers/devers/envers towards (motion) (literary) (= cap a: 14.3.1)
vers/envers in relation to/towards; facing towards (= de cara a)
vers/devers approximately, about
envers in comparison with (= en vist, al costat de)
