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Sarà un grande fallimento per colpa della sua irresponsabilità.

Sarà un grande fallimento per colpa della sua irresponsabilità.
It will be a huge failure because of his irresponsibility.
From Lesson 263:Expressing cause and blame (a causa di, per colpa di)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Sarà un grande fallimento per colpa della sua irresponsabilità.

Why do we use della here instead of just di after per colpa?
The core phrase is per colpa di (because of / by fault of). However, in Italian, you usually need a definite article before a possessive adjective like sua. When the preposition di meets the article la (from la sua), they combine to form the articulated preposition della.
Could I say a causa della sua irresponsabilità instead?
Yes, grammatically both are correct. However, per colpa di specifically assigns blame (literally meaning 'for fault of'). Because irresponsibility is a negative trait that directly caused a failure, per colpa di is a much stronger and more natural choice here than the neutral a causa di.
The English translation says 'his irresponsibility', so why is the feminine sua used?
In Italian, possessive adjectives agree with the gender and number of the thing being possessed, not the person who owns it. Because irresponsabilità is a feminine noun, it requires the feminine sua, regardless of whether the irresponsible person is a man or a woman.
How can I tell that irresponsabilità is a feminine noun?
A very reliable rule is that Italian nouns ending in an accented -tà (such as città, verità, and irresponsabilità) are almost always feminine. Keep in mind that these words are also invariable, meaning they don't change their ending in the plural.
Why is the adjective grande placed before fallimento rather than after?
Placing grande before the noun emphasizes its figurative meaning, translating to a 'huge' or 'major' failure. If you put it after (un fallimento grande), it tends to mean physically large, which doesn't make much sense in this context.

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