pour/puʁ/
preposition · A1 · Frequency 39
preposition
Meanings
indicating purpose, intended recipient, or goal
Used to indicate the purpose of something, the intended recipient, or a destination.
indicating support or favor for someone or something
Used to express support or approval for someone or something.
indicating cause, consequence, or result
Used to indicate the cause or result of an action or situation.
indicating direction or intended destination
Used to indicate the direction of an action or the target location.
indicating basis or standard
Used to express according to a certain basis or standard.
Examples
J'ai acheté ce sac pour ma sœur.
I bought this bag for my sister.
Toute l'équipe a voté pour cette proposition.
The whole team voted in favor of this proposal.
Il a été puni pour son retard.
He was punished for being late.
Nous partons pour Lyon demain matin.
We are leaving for Lyon tomorrow morning.
Collocations
- partir pour Paristo leave for Paris
- voter pour un candidatto vote for a candidate
- payer pour ses erreursto pay for one's mistakes
Common mistakes
Je vais pour la maison.
Je vais à la maison.
The preposition “pour” cannot be used to indicate direction towards a place; the correct preposition is “à”.
Je suis pour manger.
Je suis pour manger cela.
“pour” should be followed by a specific object of support, not directly by an infinitive verb to express support.
Related words
synonymen faveur dein favor of
synonymafin dein order to
- synonymverstowards
Grammar note
The preposition pour is used to indicate purpose, direction, support, cause, etc., followed by a noun or pronoun, and does not directly precede an infinitive verb.