The Four Porqués of Spanish

The Four 'Porquà ©s' of Spanish Although porque, por quà ©, por que, and porquà © have related meanings, they are not interchangeable. If you find them confusing as a Spanish student, youre in good company: Native speakers often write them incorrectly as well. Por Quà © Por quà © typically is used in questions, meaning why:  ¿Por quà © celebramos el 16 de septiembre? (Why do we celebrate September 16?) ¿Por quà © estamos aquà ­? (Why are we here?) ¿Por quà © no citas tus fuentes? (Why dont you cite your sources?) Por quà © is also sometimes used in statements that form an indirect question. In such cases, it usually is still translated as why. Dime por quà © las noches son tan largas. (Tell me why the nights are so long.)Quiero saber por quà © se usa el prefijo www en las pginas Web. (I want to know why the prefix www is used for Web pages.) Porque Porque typically means because: Es simple porque se basa en el concepto de igualdad. (It is simple because it is based on the concept of equality.)Perdà ³nalos, porque no saben lo que hacen. (Forgive them, because they dont know what theyre doing.)Voy al restaurante porque tengo hambre. (Im going to the restaurant because Im hungry.)-  ¿Por quà © sales? - Porque estoy aburrida. (Why are you leaving? Because Im bored.) Por quà © and porque are far more common than the following two usages. If youre a beginner at Spanish you can probably safely stop here. Por Que Por que occurs when que as a relative pronoun follows the preposition por. If that sounds confusing, think of por que as meaning for which, although it is often translated as that or why. Esa es la razà ³n por que he querido salir. (That is why I wanted to leave. Literally, that is the reason for which I wanted to leave.)El motivo por que llegà ³ tarde fue el paro de buses. (He arrived late because of the bus stoppage. Literally, the reason for which he arrived late was the bus stoppage.) Por que also occurs when que follows a verb phrase using por. For example, the phrase for to worry about is preocuparse por. Here is an example where the phrase is followed by que: Se preocupa por que las soluciones sean incompatibles. (She is worried that the solutions will be incompatible.) Porquà © Finally, porquà © is a masculine noun, meaning reason, much like using why as a noun in English: No comprendo el porquà © de la violencia domà ©stica. (I dont understand the reason for domestic violence.)Estn acostumbrados a tomar decisiones, no a explicar los porquà ©s. (They are used to making decisions, not at explaining the reasons.)