¿Por qué hay tantos tipos de “porqués” en el lenguaje Español? Has this ever been your thought when learning Spanish? It’s okay, you’re not the only one. For many people, Spanish can be very confusing at times, like when learning the different types of “porqués”. Honestly, it’s understandable.
What’s the correct writing? Or are they all correct? When should I use each one? This and many other doubts can emerge with vocabulary so similar like this one. Do you want a secret? Even native speakers get confused with the types of “porqués” at times.
The worst part is the feeling of frustration when you don’t know the difference between each “porqué”. Because it’s an essential topic to learn. There won’t be a day in Spanish in which you don’t have to use at least one of the “porqués”.
But relax! That’s why we’re here. TruFluency brings you this guide with examples, so you can understand it all better.
Porque
This type of “porque”, written, as you can see, all together and without accent mark, is a causal conjunction. This means it helps unite sentences by presenting the cause of the other sentence. It’s like “because”.
That being said, this “porque” is also used as an answer for a question.
Some examples:
- Me voy a casar, porque estoy enamorada. (I’m getting married, because I’m in love).
- Mi perrito está brincando, porque va a salir a pasear. (My dog is jumping, because he’s going out for a walk).
- Gloria se va a mudar, porque su departamento es muy chico. (Gloria is moving out, because her apartment is very small).
- John no tiene amigos, porque es muy chismoso. (John doesn’t have friends, because he’s very gossipy).
Some examples of “porque” when introducing an answer:
- ¿Por qué no te gusta el café? Porque sabe amargo. (Why don’t you like coffee? Because it tastes bitter).
- ¿Por qué estás tan feliz? Porque me voy a casar. (Why are you so happy? Because I’m getting married.
To understand this better, just think of the sentences above as questions and answers:
- ¿Por qué se va a mudar Gloria? Gloria se va a mudar, porque su departamento es muy chico. (Why is Gloria moving out? Gloria is moving out because her apartment is very small).
- ¿Por qué John no tiene amigos? Porque es muy chismoso. (Why doesn’t John have friends? Because he’s very gossipy).
Porqué
Now, pay attention as the writing of this “porqué” is similar to the one before, but its use is different. Can you spot the writing difference? That’s right! This one is also written all together, but it has an accent mark on the “e”.
This “porqué” is a noun and its meaning is like saying “reason” or “cause”. So, whenever you don’t know if this is the right “porqué” to use, just think if you can change it for one of those two other words.
Some examples:
- ¿Cuál es el porqué de tu enojo? (What’s the reason of your anger?).
- Ted me explicó el porqué de su cambio de carrera. (Ted explained me the reason why he changed majors).
- Sólo Dios sabe el porqué de las cosas. (Only God knows the reason of things).
- Debe haber un porqué hizo lo que hizo. (There must be a reason why he/she did what he/she did).
Por qué
It’s time for the “por qué”. This one is written separately and with an accent mark on the “e”. It’s written that way because it’s the combination of two words. “Por” is a preposition and “qué” works as an interrogative or exclamatory word.
This means that “por qué” is used for questions and interrogative and exclamatory sentences. It’s like saying “why”.
Some examples:
- ¿Por qué me mentiste? (Why did you lie to me?)
- No sé por qué reprobé. (I don’t know why I failed).
- ¡Por qué me pasan estas cosas a mí! (Why do these things happen to me!)
- Luke no sabe por qué su esposa lo dejó. (Luke doesn’t know why his wife left him).
Por que
Finally, there’s “por que”. This one is written similarly to “por qué”, as they’re both formed by two words, but this “por que” doesn’t have an accent mark. It’s formed by the preposition “por” and the “que” that works as a subordinating conjunction or as a relative pronoun.
Some examples:
- El trabajo por que me estreso tanto ni siquiera paga bien. (The job I stressed so much for doesn’t even pay well).
- La razón por que ganaste es por tu arduo trabajo. (The reason you won is because of your hard work).
- Los libros por que se pelearon ni siquiera son tan buenos. (The books they fought about aren’t even that good).
- Estaban emocionados por que el examen se cancelara. (They were excited for the exam to get canceled).
As a tip, if the “que” works as a relative pronoun it means you can add an article (el, la, los, las) before the “que”. Take the first three sentences above as an example:
- El trabajo por EL que me estreso tanto ni siquiera paga bien. (The job I stressed so much for doesn’t even pay well).
- La razón por LA que ganaste es por tu arduo trabajo. (The reason why you won is because of your hard work).
- Los libros por LOS que se pelearon ni siquiera son tan buenos. (The books they fought about aren’t even that good).
Sentences to Distinguish Between Each “Porqué”
Reading sentences that have different types of “porqués” can be helpful to understand them. This is because it’ll help you see the differences more clearly. So here are a few long sentences using different “porqués”. So you can try to distinguish better between each one.
- La razón por que mamá me regañó es porque llegué tarde a casa, pero no sé por qué empezó a llorar. Tal vez por el mismo coraje. (The reason mom scolded me is because I came home late, but I don’t know why she started crying. Maybe because of the same anger).
- ¿Por qué no me quiere contar lo que le pasa? / Ella guarda muchos secretos, porque no confía en la gente pero no se exactamente el porqué. (Why doesn’t she want to tell me what’s going on with her? / She keeps many secrets because she doesn’t trust people but I don’t know the exact why).
- No tenías por qué mentirme, pero ya que lo hiciste dime el porqué. (You didn’t have to lie to me, but since you did it tell me why).
- Los niños estaban nerviosos por que los castigaran porque reprobaron. (The kids were nervous to be grounded because they failed).
- ¿Sabes el porqué renunció? / La razón por que renunció a su trabajo es porque se ganó la lotería. ¡Por qué a mí no me pasan esas cosas! (Do you know why she quit? / The reason why he/she quit his/her job is because he/she won the lottery. Why those things don’t happen to me!)
Want to Learn More Spanish in a Cool Way? Porqué no intentarlo con TruFluency?
Now you know how to write the different types of “porqués” and when to use each one. But the truth is that there are other confusing topics about the Spanish language.
Of course, that’s no reason not to learn it, right? All you need is a cool way to learn and some tips and tricks to make it all easier and more understandable. If that’s your case, you should try learning with TruFluency Spanish classes.
We are a completely online language school with native teachers who will make sure you learn in a fun way. They’ll also make the environment of every lesson safe, so you feel comfortable making mistakes.
After all, we understand you’re just learning. The best of all is that every lesson will be customized to your needs and goals. So if you need more help practicing the “porqués”, just say it.
Everything you’ll learn will be useful; you’ll notice how you’ll put it into practice in real life situations. Want more? Though we will teach you everything there’s need to know about the Spanish language, we will focus on speaking.
This is important as it’ll help you achieve language fluency. Therefore, you’ll be able to communicate properly in Spanish with a true native.
We have flexible schedules and prices for different budgets. So, ¿por qué no intentar estudiar Español con nosotros? Take a two-hour trial class, or choose our language packages. Now, you’re ready to be a master of Spanish.
