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Students of French often mistranslate “because of” in French. This is because of two reasons: translating literally without thinking in advance of the structure of the sentence, and not taking into account the positive or negative connotation implied in the sentence. So let’s explain the difference between “because” (“parce que” and “because of” (“à cause de”) to help you make the appropriate choice in the future!
Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words mentioned in this episode
Parce que = because (due to the fact that)
Pourquoi = why
La raison pour laquelle = the reason why
Les raisons pour lesquelles = the reasons why
A cause de = because of (owing to)
A cause de quoi/qui = because of what/whom
Grâce à = thanks to
Grâce à quoi/qui = thanks to what/whom
Je suis resté chez moi parce qu’il pleuvait = I stayed home because it was raining.
Je suis resté chez moi à cause de la pluie = I stayed home because of the rain
Grâce à = thanks to
Grâce à quoi/qui = thanks to what/whom
J’ai réussi mon examen grâce à mon professeur = I passed the exam thanks to my teacher.
Le cours a fini en retard à cause du professeur = The class finished late because of the teacher.
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