Pitman's Commercial Spanish Grammar (2nd ed.)

by C. A. Toledano

=Desde= calls attention to distance of time or space, as—

Desde el 1° de Enero se estableció en comercio por cuenta propia: From the 1st of January, he started in business on his own account.

He viajado desde Londres hasta Calcuta en tantos días: I travelled from
London to Calcutta in so many days.

The chief difficulty in the employment of the Spanish prepositions is the use of Por and Para—

=Por= is used—

1. To denote agency = by[165]; as—

Es tenido en gran cuenta por sus amigos: He is thought much of by his friends.

Este establecimiento fué fundado por mi bisabuelo: This establishment was founded by my great-grandfather.

[Footnote 165: After the passive voice of verbs denoting mental action when formed by ser, Por is elegantly substituted by De, as: Son amados por or de sus padres (they are loved by their parents). But: Se aman por sus padres.]

2. To denote the motive of an action, as—