Por vs Para in Spanish: medium
We use the preposition por (not para) in order to express a way, medium or channel. Read and listen to these examples:
Ella habla con su madre por teléfono.She's talking to her mother on the phone.
Los inmigrantes ilegales llegan a España por barco.Illegal immigrants arrive in Spain by boat.
Las cartas internacionales viajan por avión.International letters travel by plane.
When we are talking about transportation the preposition en is also acceptable, although with the verbs viajar (to travel) and ir (to go) we tend to use en and with the verb enviar (to send) we tend to use por.
Have a look at these sentences:
Mis padres viajarán a Irlanda en avión.My parents will travel to Ireland by plane.
Mis padres irán a Irlanda en avión.My parents will go to Ireland by plane.
Preferiría enviar el paquete por avión.I'd rather send the parcel by plane.
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