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Întârziem din cauza șantierului.

Întârziem din cauza șantierului.
We are late because of the construction site.
From Lesson 202:Cause prepositions (din cauza)·Romanian

Breakdown of Întârziem din cauza șantierului.

întârzia
to be late
din cauza
because of
șantierul
the construction site

Questions & Answers about Întârziem din cauza șantierului.

Why doesn't this sentence use the verb a fi (to be) for 'we are late'?
In English, you use the verb 'to be' plus the adjective 'late'. Romanian uses a dedicated action verb for this: a întârzia (to be late / to delay). Therefore, the single word întârziem means 'we are late' or 'we are running late'.
Why does șantier (construction site) change to șantierului here?
The prepositional phrase din cauza (because of) requires the noun that follows it to be in the Genitive case. Because șantier is a neuter noun, its definite Genitive form takes the suffix -ului, making it șantierului (of the construction site).
If we wanted to say 'because of A construction site' instead of THE construction site, how would this change?
The noun itself would drop the -ului ending, and the indefinite article would take the Genitive form instead. The sentence would become Întârziem din cauza unui șantier.
Is there any difference between using din cauza and din pricina here?
There is no significant difference. Both phrases mean 'because of' and both trigger the Genitive case for the noun that follows. You could completely swap it to Întârziem din pricina șantierului and it would mean exactly the same thing, though din cauza is more common in everyday speech.

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