What’s the deal with porque vs por que vs porqué vs por qué? Is there any difference? Pronunciation no, emphasis yes. Does it matter if I omit the accent marks? Oh, yes. Let me explain.
In Spanish, there are some words that combine with the preposition por. For example: preocuparse por (to be worried about), asustarse por (to be scared by), estar ansioso por (to be anxious about), una preocupación por (a worry about).
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In this case, you’ll simply translate porque to “because.” You can start a sentence with this word after you’ve heard a question, or use it in the middle of a sentence to explain a cause.
This is the noun form of por que. El porqué is normally translated as “the reason,” or less commonly as “why” (used as a noun).
Examples of Spanish phrasal verbs that use por can be optar por (to opt for, decide), preocuparse por (to worry about, to take care of), luchar por (to fight for), decidirse por (to opt for, decide), etc.
It’s the same idea here. Porque, por qué, por que, and porqué are different words with different meanings, and you use them in different situations and grammatical contexts. However, it’s still easy to confuse them.
It can be translated as “for which,” but there are going to be times when you will have to translate it as “why” or even “so that.”
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Have you ever made a mistake with it’s or its, or their, they’re, and there? We all do, in situations when our mind simply goes blank. However, if you give a second reading to your text, you’ll correct your mistakes, because the rules that distinguish one from another are quite simple.
In Spanish “because” is porque, and it is written as one word without an accent mark. Use this word only when you are giving your reasons:
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In English, when you ask a question using “why,” you’ll probably obtain a spoken answer beginning with “because.” This is also true of Spanish, but our word for “because” is actually another member of the “porque family.”
Let’s continue with our porque vs por que discussion. The next pair is por qué and porque. These are also simple to understand. Just remember: por qué is a question word that translates to “why” in English, and porque is “because.”