Para/A + Infinitivo

[heckler0077]

¡Hola! Tengo una pregunta básico sobre infinitivos. En la frase siguiente, ¿cuál preposición debo usar, y por qué?

Hay mucha tarea para/a hacer.

Además, si podría elaborar en general, se apreciaría.

¡Gracias por antemano!

[tacuba]

Originally Posted by heckler0077

¡Hola! Tengo una pregunta básico sobre infinitivos. En la frase siguiente, ¿cuál preposición debo usar, y por qué?



Además, si podría elaborar en general, se apreciaría.

¡Gracias por antemano!

Hay mucha tarea por hacer is how I would say it.

From Larousse: (antes de infinitivo) (indica tarea futura) los candidatos que quedan por entrevistar the candidates who have not yet been interviewed or who have still to be interviewed; tengo todos estos papeles por ordenar I've got all these papers to sort out; estuve por ir, pero luego me dio pereza I was about to go or on the verge of going, but then I decided I couldn't be bothered; ¡eso está por ver! that remains to be seen!; está por ver si eso es cierto it remains to be seen whether that is the case

I think prepositions are one of the most difficult things to learn when studying Spanish. Sometimes they just don't translate very well from the English, and on top of everything, using the wrong preposition can totally change the meaning of the sentence.

Compré el regalo para Juana. I bought the gift for Juana (it's Juana's birthday)
Compré el regalo por Juana. I bought the gift for Juana (it's Miguel's birthday and Juana wanted to buy him a gift but couldn't, so I did Juana a favor and bought the gift for her to give to Miguel.)

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Originally Posted by heckler0077

¡Hola! Tengo una pregunta básica sobre los infinitivos. En la frase siguiente, ¿cuál preposición debo usar, y por qué?

Además, si podría pudiera elaborar en general, se apreciaría.

¡Gracias por de antemano!

I agree with Tacuba. "Por" is needed when there is an idea of something that is yet to be done.

"Para" is not fully wrong, but since it might imply a purpose, "hay mucha tarea para hacer (...)" sounds like an incomplete sentence (to do what with it?).

"Hay mucha tarea para entregar mañana" -> Homework will have to be done so it will be handed in to the teacher.

As for preposition "a" plus an infinitive, I can't think of a case where this structure would correctly fit in.

"Cuentas a pagar", "asuntos a resolver", etc., can be often heard, but these expressions sound plain wrong for me.
"Para" is acceptable when the immediate purpose is explicit in the infinitive: "cuentas para pagar" would be the bills one is going to pay at the moment.
And "por" sounds much better ("cuentas por pagar", "asuntos por resolver"...).

[Rusty]

Hay mucha tarea que hacer.
Hay mucha tarea para hacer.
Hay mucha tarea por hacer.

Each is correct, but has a slightly different nuance.
que hacer = must do (have to do)
para hacer = to do
por hacer = to do at one's leisure (get around to doing)

The 'tarea a hacer' sounds bad to me, although it is used. Wait for a native speaker to give their opinion.
EDIT: A native speaker wrote while I typed.