Pa: A Shortcut for "Para"

 

y como yo no soy de este país, me vine p'acá.

and since I'm not from this country, I came here.

Caption 11, Taimur Taimur habla

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Ya yo voy p'allá y me voy pa mi país otra vez.

I'm going there soon, and I'm going to my country again.

Caption 23, Taimur Taimur habla

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BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Outside a Spanish classroom, say, on the streets or on the radio, it's very common to hear pa in place of para ("for, towards, to a destination"). Interviewing young Taimur in a middle class neighborhood of Coro, Venezuela, a whole series of the word pa are heard to drive home this point. "Vine p'acá" ("Vine para acá") means "I came here," whereas "Voy p'allá" means "I'll go there." In both cases, pa indicates the destination.

Looking for more examples? In the intro to Shakira's ubiquitous song La Tortura, "pa ti" is the fast way to say "for you." In fact, if you search for "p'acá," "p'allá" or "pa ti" on the Internet, you'll be inundated with letras (lyrics) from the Spanish-speaking parts of the Caribbean down to the tip of Chile and even in Spain!

Although you might run across pa written with an apostrophe, keep in mind that the correct way to write it is on its own with no apostrophe. 

Expressions

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