Today we’re looking at another two commonly confused Spanish words and expressions: porque and por qué; and while we’re about it, we’ll touch on two more variations on a theme.
You’ll find porque (one word, no accent) very useful whenever you are explaining the reasons for doing something because it means because:
Trabajo porque me gusta ganar dinero.
I work because I like to earn money.
No podemos comprar esta lavadora porque es demasiado cara.
We can’t buy this washing machine because it’s too expensive.
Llegaron tarde a la ceremonia porque su tren se averió.
They were late getting to the ceremony because their train broke down.
In each of the examples above, the conjunction porque connects two halves of a sentence. Just like because,it can also come at the beginning, including when it answers a why question:
¿Por qué no me lo dijiste? – Porque era confidencial.
Why didn’t you tell me? – Because it was confidential.
As you can see in the last example, the Spanish word forwhy (or, more literally,for what reason) is por qué (two words, accent on qué), which is the other main focus of this post.
The accent should come as no surprise, since question words such as ¿dónde? where?, ¿cómo? how?, and ¿cuándo? when? have an accent both when used in direct questions and when embedded in statements (indirect and reported questions):
¿Por qué estás leyendo este documento?
Why are you reading this document?
¿Por qué no vienes conmigo?
Why don’t you come with me?
No sé por qué.
I don’t know why.
Quiero saber por qué llamaron a mi hijo.
I want to know why they called my son.
No entiendo por qué lo hizo.
I don’t understand why he did it.
Aún me pregunto por qué eligieron esa fecha.
I’m still wondering why they chose that date.
El libro explica por qué hay que oponerse a esta práctica.
The book explains why we need to oppose this practice.
While porque (because) and por qué (why) are the potentially confusable pair we’re concentrating on today, there are some other very similar terms to be aware of:
- As a one-word masculine noun with an accent, el porqué (plural: los porqués) means the reason for something:
Existen mitos acerca del porqué del nombre.
There are some myths about the reason for the name.
Se desconoce el porqué de este cambio.
The reason for this change isn’t known.
En la primera entrevista que concede tras la noticia explica los porqués.
In the first interview she’s given since the news, she explains the reasons.
Nadie realmente puede explicar los porqués, los cuándos, los cómos, los dóndes, etcétera.
No one can really explain the whys, whens, hows, wheres, etc.
- And sometimes the preposition por just happens to be next to que (as in the following examples showing luchar, esforzarse and optar – which take por):
Lucharon por que se reconocieran sus derechos.
They fought for their rights to be recognised.
Se esforzó por que todo saliera bien.
She worked hard to make sure everything went well.
Optaron por que los niños se quedaran en casa.
They chose to keep the children at home.
A QUICK SUMMARY
| Form | Written as | Used for |
| porque | one word, no accent | because |
| por qué | two words, accent on e | why |
| el porqué | one word, accent on e | the reason |
| por que | two words, no accent | preposition por + que |
DID YOU KNOW?
- If something happens or doesn’t happen because of something, you need a different expression entirely: a causa de or else por:
En 2020, no se entregó el premio a causa del COVID-19.
In 2020 the prize was not awarded because of Covid-19.
Había recibido amenazas de muerte por su labor policial.
He had received death threats because of or on account of his police work.
- Porque (one word, no accent) doesn’t always mean because. When followed by the subjunctive, it can mean the same as para que and be used to indicate the purpose of an action – so that, in order that:
Las etapas se acortaron porque no se tuviera que correr durante la noche.
The stages were shortened so that contestants wouldn’t have to race at night.
PRACTICE
In each of the following, you need to choose between porque, por qué, porqué and por que.
- No sé ……………………… no me contestó.
I don’t know why she didn’t answer me. - ¿……………………… no viniste ayer?
Why didn’t you come yesterday? - No pude dormir ……………………… hacía mucho calor.
I couldn’t sleep because it was very hot. - Nadie entiende el ……………………… de esta medida.
Nobody understands the reason for this measure. - Está desesperado ……………………… su vida cambie.
He is desperate for his life to change. - ¿……………………… estudias español?
Why are you studying Spanish? - Lo hago ……………………… me gusta, no ……………………… me obliguen.
I do it because I like it, not because I’m forced to. - Me gustaría saber el ……………………… de su renuncia.
I would like to know the reason for his resignation.
And here’s a little extra question:
The English translation of a well-known song written in Spanish and sung by Jeanette in the film Cría Cuervos (Raise Ravens) is Because you’re going away or Because you’re leaving. Can you work out what its Spanish title is?
ANSWERS
- No sé por qué no me contestó.
- ¿Por qué no viniste ayer?
- No pude dormir porque hacía mucho calor.
- Nadie entiende el porqué de esta medida.
- Está desesperado por que su vida cambie.
- ¿Por qué estudias español?
- Lo hago porque me gusta, no porque me obliguen.
- Me gustaría saber el porqué de su renuncia.
And the answer to that extra question?
The well-known song written in Spanish and sung by Jeanette in the film Cría Cuervos (Raise Ravens) is Porque te vas.
For more tips on Spanish usage, come back next week.
