por ello
/poɾ eʝo/from spelling rules
The phrase "by it" in Spanish is translated as por ello.
Por ello is used to mean "by it", "for it" or "because of it". It is used to refer back to an abstract concept, a situation or a whole clause rather than a physical object.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of por (for/by/through) and ello (it/that, referring to an abstract idea or situation).
How do you pronounce it?
/poɾ eʝo/
Did you know?
- The word ello is a linguistic survivor of the Latin neuter gender. Modern Spanish has effectively lost the neuter gender for nouns, but ello persists to refer to abstract ideas.
- The word ello is much more common in formal writing than in spoken Spanish, where speakers often prefer more direct pronouns.
- The word ello is the neuter form of the Latin 'ille', which is why it can only refer to abstract ideas rather than specific masculine or feminine objects.
Examples in context
- El clima cambió y por ello cancelamos el viaje.The weather changed and because of it we cancelled the trip.
- Hubo un error, pero por ello no te culpo.There was an error, but because of it I don't blame you.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Sofía are discussing a mistake at work.
- AlejandroCometí un error en el informe.I made a mistake in the report.
- SofíaNo deberías preocuparte por ello.You should not worry about it.
- AlejandroPero el jefe podría enojarse.But the boss could get angry.
- SofíaTodo se puede solucionar, Alejandro.Everything can be fixed, Alejandro.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
