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La pigrizia è la causa del problema.

La pigrizia è la causa del problema.
Laziness is the cause of the problem.
From Lesson 263:Expressing cause and blame (a causa di, per colpa di)·Italian

Questions & Answers about La pigrizia è la causa del problema.

Why doesn't this sentence use a causa di if it translates to "the cause of"?
This lesson teaches the compound preposition a causa di, which means "because of" or "due to". In this sentence, however, la causa is acting as a regular noun meaning "the cause" (Laziness is the cause...).
How could I rewrite this using the preposition a causa di?
If you wanted to express the same idea using the lesson's grammar ("Because of laziness, there is a problem"), you would say C'è un problema a causa della pigrizia. Notice how the di in a causa di combines with the article la to make della.
Why is there an article before pigrizia? In English we just say "Laziness."
In Italian, you almost always need to use definite articles (il, la, etc.) before abstract nouns like pigrizia (laziness), pazienza (patience), or amore (love) when talking about them in a general sense.
Why is it del problema? Doesn't the -a ending make it feminine (della)?
Problema is a classic exception! It is a masculine word despite ending in -a, like many Italian words borrowed from ancient Greek (others include il sistema, il clima, and il programma). Because it is masculine, it takes the article il, which combines with di to form del.

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