estar por/para + Infinitive
Pending Actions and Readiness
Use estar por + infinitive to express an inclination to do something or that an action is pending. Use estar para + infinitive to express that an action is imminent or that you are ready to do it.
How It Works
These structures describe pending actions, inclinations, readiness or imminence. Compare the prepositions por and para in this context.
1. Estar por + Infinitivo
This construction has two primary meanings:
- Inclination or Temptation: It expresses a personal feeling, a desire, or being tempted to do something. It's similar to saying 'I'm thinking of...' or 'I have a mind to...'.
Example: Estoy por dejar el trabajo y viajar por el mundo. (I'm tempted to quit my job and travel the world.) - Unfinished Action: It indicates that a task is pending or yet to be done. This is often used with inanimate objects or in a passive sense.
Example: La mitad del informe está por escribir. (Half of the report is yet to be written.)
2. Estar para + Infinitivo
This construction has several related uses:
- Imminence or Readiness: It signifies that an action is about to happen at any moment, or that someone/something is ready for the action. It can also describe being disposed or in a suitable state to act, especially in negative sentences such as No estoy para discutir. No fixed number of seconds is encoded.
Example: ¡Corre, el autobús está para salir! (Run, the bus is about to leave!)
Example: La cena ya está para servir. (Dinner is ready to be served now.)
Direct Comparison
Let's see the difference with similar sentences:
- La sopa está por servir. → The soup is yet to be served. (The serving remains undone; the soup may already be ready).
- La sopa está para servir. → The soup is ready to be served. (It is ready for serving; this does not guarantee when serving happens).
- Estaba por llamarte. → I was about to call you / I was thinking of calling you. (Inclination).
- Estaba para llamarte. → I was just about to call you. (Readiness or imminence; no particular physical preparation is stated).
In parts of Latin America, estar por also means be about to, as in El tren está por salir. This is a recognized regional use, not a loss of precision. Neither preposition guarantees that the intended action will happen.
Context Changes The Reading
La sopa está por servir can accompany ¡A la mesa!: serving is the pending step, not necessarily cooking. Estoy para comprarme un coche can present readiness without implying a visit to a dealership. Está para llover can describe approaching rain without the first drops already falling. Ir a + infinitive is a broader prospective construction; its contrast with estar para is not a fixed time cutoff.
Examples (5)
- El tren está para salir, ¡tenemos que darnos prisa!
The train is about to leave, we have to hurry!
Word by Word: The train is for to leave, we have to give us hurry!
Estar para presents the departure as imminent in this context; it does not specify how many seconds remain.
- Estoy por decirle toda la verdad, pero no me atrevo.
I'm tempted to tell him the whole truth, but I don't dare.
Word by Word: I am for to tell him all the truth, but not I dare.
The contrast pero no me atrevo supports the inclination reading of estar por here.
- La mitad de los platos están por fregar.
Half of the dishes are yet to be washed.
Word by Word: The half of the dishes are for to scrub.
Estar por indicates that washing remains undone. With la mitad de los platos, plural agreement with platos is accepted.
- Parecía que el bebé estaba para nacer en cualquier momento.
It seemed like the baby was about to be born at any moment.
Word by Word: It seemed that the baby was for to be born in any moment.
The surrounding phrase en cualquier momento reinforces the imminent-event reading.
- Estaba por aceptar la oferta, pero al final la rechacé.
I was on the verge of accepting the offer, but in the end I rejected it.
Word by Word: I was for to accept the offer, but at the end it I rejected.
This context presents a contemplated or nearly accepted offer followed by its rejection; the construction alone does not guarantee action.
Related Patterns
- por / paraPor vs. Para
Por and para participate in several constructions. Learn the meanings of estar por and estar para as complete patterns; they cannot all be deduced from reason versus purpose.
Level 2 - ir + a + InfinitiveNear Future
Ir a + infinitive broadly presents a prospective event. Estar para can emphasize imminence or readiness; neither construction has a fixed time cutoff.
Level 1 - acabar de + InfinitiveJust Did
Acabar de can present a recent completed event. The imminence uses of estar por/para look toward an event, but their pending-action and disposition uses are not simple temporal opposites of acabar de.
Level 1 - estar + GerundPresent Progressive
Estar + gerund presents an activity in progress at a reference time, which need not be now. Estar por/para + infinitive instead has pending-action, disposition or imminence readings.
Level 2 - para + InfinitiveIn Order to
This shows the more common use of 'para' to express purpose ('in order to'). Comparing 'Estudio para aprender' (I study in order to learn) with 'Estoy para salir' (I am about to leave) helps isolate the specific meaning of imminence in the 'estar para' structure.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice estar por/para + Infinitive in Bubblegum
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