Learn French: Le porte-parole a sauvé notre réputation grâce à sa déclaration. - The spokesperson saved our reputation thanks to his statement.

Le porte-parole a sauvé notre réputation grâce à sa déclaration.

The spokesperson saved our reputation thanks to his statement.

Breakdown of Le porte-parole a sauvé notre réputation grâce à sa déclaration.

avoir

to have

son

his/her/its (son, sa, ses)

notre

our (singular and plural forms: notre, nos)

sauver

to save (a life, rescue)

Questions & Answers about Le porte-parole a sauvé notre réputation grâce à sa déclaration.

Why do we use grâce à here instead of à cause de?

Grâce à means "thanks to" and is used when the cause leads to a positive outcome, like saving a reputation. If the statement had ruined their reputation, you would use à cause de (because of) to indicate a negative outcome.

The spokesperson (le porte-parole) is masculine, so why is it sa déclaration and not son déclaration?

In French, possessive adjectives agree with the noun being owned, not the owner. Since déclaration is a feminine noun, we must use sa, regardless of whether the spokesperson is a man or a woman.

If the spokesperson were a woman, would it be la porte-parole?

Yes! For compound words made of a verb (porter, to carry) and a noun (parole, word), the spelling of the word itself doesn't change based on gender. You simply change the article from le to la.

Could I use parce que instead of grâce à in this sentence?

Not with this exact wording. Parce que must be followed by a full clause with a subject and a verb (such as parce qu'il a fait une déclaration). Because sa déclaration is just a noun phrase, you must use a preposition like grâce à.