Which one is the correct word to use in this situation, por
or para
?
pedir por direcciones
pedir para direcciones
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Sign up to join this communityIf you want to use pedir, it's better to use pedir una dirección, but this is rarely used, preguntar por una dirección would be more common .
The first case could be used, for instance, if you want to ask for the address of somebody you know, to send a package. Preguntar por una dirección would be used if you want to know where something is.
The correct way to ask for it would be Pedir (Preguntar) por direcciones.
I would use preguntar rather than pedir. When asking for something, always use por. Para should be used for reasons or for gifting something to someone, such as "a present for you" (un regalo para ti).
Also "pedir what": it's "pedir" + artículo determinado (el/la/los/las) / indeterminado ("un/uno/unos/unas")
pedir la mano <> ask a girl for marriage, usually to her parents (traditional)
pedir una dirección <> ask for one address
and para/por: "pedir for what|for who"
This all is in Spanish from Spain, in other variants there might be variations in meaning