Algo así no se puede encontrar en todos lados.

Sentence Discussions Spanish
#1
English Translation

Such a thing cannot be found everywhere.

Google Ngrams has this to say about the frequency of en/por todos lados/todas partes:

en todas partes 0.0007681814%
por todos lados 0.0002012754%
en todos lados 0.0000673057%
por todas partes 0.0006509719%

Am I correct in supposing that they are all interchangeable?

#2

Lados and partes are interchangeable, en and por aren’t. Often you could use either, but they still mean different things.

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#3

Could you please give a couple of examples where they are not? My supposition was “interchangeable as a translation of everywhere”.

#4

Corren por todas partes. They run around everywhere.
Corren en todas partes. They run everywhere. (This sounds awkward to me without context.)

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#5

I’m happy to say that I agree :slight_smile:. So maybe en is used in a static context, and por in a possibly more dynamic one (with movement)?

#6

Hmm I don’t think it’s anything subtle, just the difference between ‘aquí’ and ‘por aquí’.

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#7

I have been thinking about it for a bit, and come up with this explanation (on this post) what do you think:

“en” is about individual spots, while “por” is rather about “zones”.
So, perhaps:

  • I have searched under each cushion, in the cupboard, on the table : no lo he encontrado en ningún lado
  • I have looked around in the kitchen, in the livingroom, in each corner of the house: no lo he encontrado por ningún lado.
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#8

OT: Did I really post two similar questions in just two days? I must be losing it, please bear with me :slight_smile:

Anyway, that makes sense.

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