per / per a (registre formal)

Per and Per a in Formal Standard Catalan

Level 5

Per commonly marks cause, route, means or agent; per a commonly marks a recipient or intended destination.

How It Works

Compare una multa per l'incompliment, caused by a failure to comply, with una ajuda per als centres, intended for the centers. With nouns, the difference in relationship often makes the choice clear. Apply the usual contractions: pel and per al are not interchangeable shapes.

In administrative and academic prose, a recipient noun phrase makes per a particularly transparent: mesures per als centres educatius. Cause remains per even when the affected party appears nearby: una sanció per l'incompliment del termini. For infinitival purposes, distinguish an agent's intended action from intended use and follow the chosen regional formal model. Reword a genuinely ambiguous phrase instead of choosing by its English translation alone.

Examples (3)

  1. Són mesures per als centres educatius.

    They are measures for educational centers.

  2. Han rebut una sanció per l’incompliment del termini.

    They received a penalty for missing the deadline.

  3. El document ha estat revisat per dues tècniques.

    The document has been reviewed by two specialists.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

per / per a (registre formal)Level 5Per and Per a in Formal Standard Catalan

Learn This First

Separate cause, means, agent and recipient before choosing a formal prepositional phrase.

Words in This Pattern