POR QUÉ, PORQUÉ, PORQUE, and POR QUE in Spanish...!?

Explaining things in Spanish. Just “WHY” (por qué) and “BECAUSE” (porque)…?

Let’s see how to use POR QUÉ, PORQUÉ, PORQUE, and POR QUE properly in Spanish 🙂

1. POR QUÉ means WHY, and we can use it in direct or indirect questions:

    - Por qué quieres un helado? (DIRECT QUESTION)

    - WHY do you want an ice cream?

    or…

    - No sé por qué quieres un helado. (INDIRECT QUESTION)

    - I don’t know WHY you want an ice cream.

———

2. PORQUÉ means THE REASON, and we can use it to indicate the cause or motive of something…, ALWAYS with “EL”:

    - Este es EL porqué de mi felicidad (THE REASON / THE MOTIVE)

    - This is THE reason for my happiness :)

———

3. PORQUE means BECAUSE, and we can use it to explain and make things clear:

    - Estoy feliz porque estoy comiendo helado (THE EXPLANATION)

    - I’m happy BECAUSE I’m eating ice cream

———

4. POR QUE is the trickiest and the less common in everyday use. It implies the combination of a VERB, an ADJECTIVE, or a NOUN…, with the preposition “POR” and “QUE”:

    - Hoy he optado por que todos comiésemos juntos (VERB + POR + QUE)

    - Today I’ve opted for us all to eat together

    or…

    - Estoy ansioso por que también tú vengas a la fiesta (ADJECTIVE + POR + QUE)

    - I’m eager for you to come to the party as well

    or…

    - La razón por que vivimos es aprender y tener siempre nuevas experiencias (NOUN + POR + QUE)

    - The reason we live is to learn and to always have new experiences

In case you wanted some extra guidance on how to study effectively, you can find the answer here, in our complete guide to learning Spanish online.

Qué tengas un día maravilloso!

Claudio