Learn Portuguese (Portugal): A empresa faliu por causa da dívida enorme. - The company went bankrupt because of the huge debt.

A empresa faliu por causa da dívida enorme.

The company went bankrupt because of the huge debt.

Breakdown of A empresa faliu por causa da dívida enorme.

Questions & Answers about A empresa faliu por causa da dívida enorme.

Why do we use por causa da here instead of graças à?

Both phrases express cause, but they have different tones. Graças a (thanks to) is used for positive outcomes. Since a company going bankrupt is a negative outcome, we must use por causa de (because of). Notice that de contracts with the feminine article a to form da.

Can I use porque da instead of por causa da?

No, you cannot use porque (because) directly before a noun like this. Porque needs to be followed by a full phrase with a verb, such as porque a dívida era enorme (because the debt was huge). When saying 'because of' followed by a noun, you need the prepositional phrase por causa de.

Is the verb faliu completely regular?

In this past tense (pretérito perfeito), yes! It follows the normal rules for -ir verbs. However, its infinitive falir (to go bankrupt) is a defective verb, meaning it is missing some forms in the present tense. Its regular past forms like faliu are the most common ones you will encounter.

Why does enorme not end in -a since it describes the feminine noun dívida?