Introduction
Learning how to express duration in Portuguese is essential for clear communication. Two common words that confuse English speakers are por and durante. Both can translate to for or during in English, but they are not interchangeable. This article explains when to use each one, with rules, examples in Brazilian Portuguese, and tips to sound natural.
- Overview: por vs durante
- Rule 1: Use durante to indicate the entire period
- Rule 2: Use por to indicate length of time with verbs of duration
- Overlap and subtle differences: when both are possible
- Using por with expressions and idioms
- Prepositions and contractions with por
- Negative or limited duration: por vs durante
- When not to use durante
- Stylistic notes and regional preferences
- Quick decision guide
- Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- Extra examples for clarity
- Cultural note: how Brazilians think about time
- Conclusion
Overview: por vs durante
At a basic level, por is a more flexible preposition used in many expressions, while durante focuses specifically on time and emphasizes the entire span in which something happens. Understanding their differences helps avoid common mistakes and improves fluency.
Main difference in one sentence
Durante highlights that an action happened throughout a whole period. Por often indicates length of time but can also convey purpose, exchange, motion, or cause. When you want to express how long something lasted and stress continuous presence within that period, durante is usually the best choice.
Rule 1: Use durante to indicate the entire period
Durante signals that an action took place within, and often throughout, a specific period of time. It connects a continuous action to a defined timeframe like a day, a week, or an event.
Examples:
Eu estudei muito durante a noite.
Eu trabalhei bastante durante a semana passada.
Ela cantou durante o show inteiro.
In these sentences, durante emphasizes that the action occupied time within the named period. Note how durante commonly appears with definite periods: a noite, a semana passada, o show inteiro.
When durante feels natural
Use durante when you want to stress continuity or presence in a period. If the action was ongoing or repeatedly happened throughout the timeframe, choose durante.
Examples:
Choveu muito durante a tarde.
Ele ficou nervoso durante a reunião.
As crianças se divertiram durante as férias.
Rule 2: Use por to indicate length of time with verbs of duration
Por often expresses how long something lasted in a straightforward way. It answers the question Quanto tempo? and pairs well with verbs that describe duration, such as ficar, morar, esperar, or estudar.
Examples:
Eu fiquei lá por três dias.
Ela estudou por duas horas.
Nós esperamos por meia hora.
Here, por gives the duration itself without stressing continuity throughout the whole period. These sentences are common in spoken and written Brazilian Portuguese.
Por with past, present, and future
Por can be used across tenses to indicate duration.
Examples:
Ele vai ficar por uma semana. (future)
Eu moro aqui por cinco anos. (colloquial—often better as moro aqui há cinco anos)
Você ficou doente por muito tempo. (past)
Note that for ongoing states that started in the past and continue, Brazilians often prefer há or faz instead of por. For example: Eu moro aqui há cinco anos.
Overlap and subtle differences: when both are possible
Sometimes both por and durante are grammatically acceptable but change the nuance. Comparing near-identical sentences clarifies the difference.
Examples:
Eu trabalhei por duas horas.
Eu trabalhei durante duas horas.
The first sentence with por simply states the duration. The second with durante implies the work occupied those two hours — perhaps continuously. In practice, both are natural and often interchangeable, but durante slightly emphasizes that the activity filled the period.
Other pairs to compare
Pairing verbs or contexts helps see preferences.
Eu li por três dias. (I read for three days — emphasis on total time)
Eu li durante três dias. (I read during three days — emphasis on the period those days represented)
Eu viajei por uma semana. vs Eu viajei durante uma semana. Both are correct; the first focuses on duration as a measure, the second on the experience occurring within that week.
Using por with expressions and idioms
Por appears in many fixed expressions where durante cannot be used. These idiomatic uses go beyond duration and are common in everyday Brazilian Portuguese.
Examples:
por favor (please)
por que (why or because, depending on spacing: por que vs porque)
por causa de (because of)
por exemplo (for example)
por isso (therefore)
Because por has many functions, learners should memorize common phrases and pay attention to context. Durante never appears in these idiomatic expressions.
Prepositions and contractions with por
Por contracts with the definite articles o, a, os, as to form pelo, pela, pelos, pelas. These contractions are common and must be used when the article is required.
Examples:
Eu passei pelo parque por uma hora. (pelo = por + o)
Ela estudou pela manhã inteira. (pela = por + a)
With durante, there is no contraction: durante a manhã, durante o fim de semana.
Negative or limited duration: por vs durante
When specifying that something did not last very long or happened only within a part of a period, por often fits better. Use durante to stress that it occupied the entire period.
Examples:
Ele sorriu por um momento. (a short duration)
Ele sorriu durante a festa. (the smile happened during the whole party or at different times through it)
So if you want to say something lasted briefly or for a certain measured length, prefer por. If you want to say it persisted throughout a period, prefer durante.
Duration with numbers, clocks, and fixed periods
When using specific measures of time like hours, days, minutes, or weeks, both por and durante are common. Choose based on nuance and emphasis.
Examples:
Ele ligou por cinco minutos.
Ele ligou durante cinco minutos.
Either works. The first is the simple measure; the second can imply the call lasted through that five-minute span.
When not to use durante
Durante cannot replace por in many idioms and in contexts where por expresses reasons, exchange, or movement. Also avoid durante in conditional constructions where por is required.
Incorrect: Eu comprei isso durante R$20.
Correct: Eu comprei isso por R$20.
Incorrect: Vou para lá durante dois dias. (sounds odd)
Better: Vou para lá por dois dias.
Use por for price, substitution, duration as measure, and many prepositional idioms. Reserve durante primarily for temporal spans and events.
Stylistic notes and regional preferences
Both European and Brazilian Portuguese use por and durante, but register and frequency can differ. In Brazilian Portuguese, colloquial speech often prefers por for simple duration. In more formal written Portuguese, durante can add clarity or emphasis when describing events or historical periods.
Examples from culture and media:
News: Houve protestos durante o evento. (formal reporting)
Conversation: Fiquei lá por três horas. (casual, spoken)
Quick decision guide
Use this simple checklist when choosing between por and durante:
– If you need to state a measured length of time: prefer por.
– If you want to emphasize an action occupied the whole period or happened throughout an event: prefer durante.
– If the phrase is idiomatic or non-temporal: use por.
– If the period is a named event or day/time and you want to stress continuity: use durante.
– Remember contractions: por + o/a/os/as = pelo, pela, pelos, pelas. Durante does not contract.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
1. Confusing idioms: Do not replace por in fixed expressions. Memorize common phrases like por favor and por causa de.
2. Overusing durante: While precise, durante can sound formal if used too often in conversation.
3. Forgetting contractions: Use pelo/pela when a definite article is required after por.
4. Misusing por for ongoing states: For events that started in the past and continue, prefer há or faz in Brazilian Portuguese (Eu moro aqui há cinco anos).
Extra examples for clarity
Eu viajei por três dias e voltei ontem.
Eu viajei durante três dias e vi muitas cidades diferentes.
Ela dormiu por oito horas.
Ela dormiu durante a noite toda.
Ficamos em silêncio por alguns minutos.
Ficamos em silêncio durante a apresentação.
O museu fechou por reformas.
O museu ficou fechado durante as obras.
Cultural note: how Brazilians think about time
Brazilians often have a relaxed approach to time in casual conversation, and por commonly expresses approximate durations. In formal settings or storytelling, durante helps narrate actions tied to events or periods. Listening to native speakers in context—news, podcasts, and movies—helps internalize natural choices between these words.
Conclusion
Choosing between por and durante comes down to nuance: durante emphasizes that something occurred throughout a specific period, while por often indicates a measured length of time or appears in many idiomatic structures. Use the quick decision guide and observe native usage to gain confidence. Over time, both choices will feel natural in Brazilian Portuguese conversation and writing.
