The airport is that way

[Desmond]

*
The books version
The airport is that way
El aeropuerto está por allí
[i think it means The airport is for/by there]
*
Online dictionary
airport is that way
El aeropuerto es también la forma
BUT
también
too, also, either; besides
AND
también la forma
Also the way

My dictionary states camino for a route
BUT
El aeropuerto es ese camino
The airport is that road

> Online dictionary
El camino de la estación
The way from the station
And I have found another version in the dictionary (ahí)
The airport is by there
El aeropuerto está por ahí

[Sancho Panther]

¿Qué es lo que no entiendes?

[Desmond]

Quiet simple there are 3 different ways to say The airport is that way

Por favour
Please or is it for favour? if so

El aeropuerto está por allí is The airport is for there

Doesn't make sence.

[poli]

El aeropuerto está por allá is used in common speech.

But under different circumstances it can be said differently.
Certainly you can say el camino del aeropuerto se encuentra allá.

[Sancho Panther]

But you could also say "The airport is south of Manchester", "The airport is in that direction", "The airport is that way", "The airport is just off the M56" or "The airport is just outside Wilmslow". There are many different ways to say it English" and all are perfectly correct just as in Spanish!

In the context of your point in your first post "La forma" doesn't actually mean the way in the sense of 'the direction' it's more 'the way of doing something' or better the 'form' in English.

[Rusty]

The book has it right. That is how it's said. You may also use 'ahí' or 'allá', but the three words are not synonyms. They each designate a different distance from the speaker, based on perception.

The word 'por' is not to be translated by itself. The words 'por allí' describe the location of the airport. Those two words mean 'over there' or 'in that direction' (that way).

Context is VITAL information when dealing with language. Without proper context, no online dictionary can give you the right translation.
Looking up individual words in a dictionary can't possibly provide the correct meaning of a phrase comprised of more than one word.
We use two words in English to convey 'over there'. If you look up the first word for its meaning, and then the second, you won't get the meaning of the phrase 'over there'. We learn what the phrase means, not the individual words.

'Por favor' is translated as 'please' in English, even though there are two words in Spanish. There's no reason for you to try to make sense of the individual words. Learn it as a phrase, for that is what it is.

[Desmond]

That’s the tourist office. = Esa es la oficina de turismo.
There’s a ... = Hay un
There’s the = Allí está la
so why is The airport is that way. = El aeropuerto está por allí. and not por ese/a
Admitedly you can't decide on masculin or feminine of That

BUT The other thing is por allí and por aquí

The beach is this way. = La playa está por aquí. This does change.

Up until now I have been trying to get a good understanding of the Spanish language. Taking sentences and going through the words that make up a sentence. There has to be a logical reason for their use. Lots of Spanish words have different meanings and to try and understand how they are used to make up the sentence. I would assume that Spanish children are taught like that. Not that a sentence is that way and just accept it. So understanding what Por means in the airport is that way. That is ese/a so I would assume that That way would be por se/a

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

There is a problem with trying to translate word for word in sentences, because collocations, expressions and some structures cannot be separated. That is why phrasal or prepositional verbs in English are so difficult for English students. A certain combination of words makes a new meaning of words that separately would mean very different things.

In any case, if you want to grasp the exact nature of each word, you will have to use a Spanish dictionary instead of a bilingual one, so each definition will make sense in context.


What your language course is trying to teach, I think, is that there are many ways to give directions. One of them is "el aeropuerto está por ahí", which, as Rusty said, means "the airport is over there". An English student might ask why "over" if it's not flying.

I understand the stress trying to understand each and every new word (been there, done that), but one is better off trying to relax and just learn the expressions and as learning advances, it will make more sense. My personal advice is that not to try translating everything or you'll miss the spontaneity of speaking a foreign language with its natural features.

[Desmond]

Thanks Angelica. I was trying to make a point that like the Chinese. They are told that the sun rises in the east. They do not need to understand why only to accept it. It is the way they are tough.

I f I got a good understanding of what the different meanings for por then I could construct any sentence that required it without difficulty. I realise that over does not mean to fly over.

what would be the literal translations of

The airport is that way.
Is there a bank around here?
Both ' that way' and 'around' here are por Por allí

I would love to get a true Spanish only dictionary. Rusty does say you should. but unless I can get a Spanish amazon website...

Por takes up a page of my bi-lingual dictionary which include sections

Causa
Objetivo
en favor, defensa de
elección
evidencia
medio
modo
lugar
aproximación
tiempo
duración
sustitución, intercambio
representación
distribución
en multiplicaciones
en cuanto a
como
concesión
acción inacabada
en busca de
en preguntas

This is clearly a difficult word to work with!!!

[Desmond]

And if that is not confusing.
The cinema is in this street. > El cine está en esta calle.
First está is accented. I would assume that both are part of the verb estar (to be) but I have a book of verb tables and esta is not in it. If I could get my head around is/this/that and POR I could move on, but I feel that I am going down a blind ally way here.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Not all similar words have the same root or are related. (It's not the case in English either.)

"Está" is third person singular of the verb "estar", yes. But "esta" is a demonstrative pronoun, just like "this" in your original sentence in English. (If you are trying to translate, keep in mind the nature of the words in your original sentences first.)

And my advice is not to be obsessed with one word. Learn to use each expression in the context suggested in the examples so you can actually learn a part of their functions. All that list you have for "por" makes no sense for a beginner, since it's too much information to grasp when you haven't been exposed to the foreign language. The best you can do, is to master the sentence you have in front of you, and make your own:

If you know now that "por ahí" gives a non-precise direction, you can play with the way these words are used.
I know "El aeropuerto está por ahí", I can then make "mi coche está por allá", "los niños juegan por ahí", "El perro está por aquí".
You can that way learn how far "aquí", "ahí", "allá" are and you will master the use of "por" in such sentences.

All efforts to memorize without any context or all meanings of one isolated word are likely to fail.

[Sancho Panther]

I don't really know but it occurs to me that you are not following a properly structured course. If you are serious about learning the language then I think you'd be better off with a more appropriate course.

I really think you might do well to think about investing in a better language course. It's worth it in the long run.