Breakdown of Из-за работы он не гуляет.
не
not
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
работа
work, job
гулять
to walk
из-за
because of; from behind
Questions & Answers about Из-за работы он не гуляет.
I know из means 'out of'. Why is there a hyphen and a за attached to it here?
The word из-за is a compound preposition. While из usually means 'out of,' when you combine it with за (behind), the literal meaning becomes 'from behind'. However, in everyday Russian, из-за is most commonly used to mean 'because of' or 'on account of' something.
Why is the word for 'work' written as работы instead of работа?
Just like the preposition из that you are focusing on in this lesson, the compound preposition из-за requires the noun following it to take the Genitive case. Because of this rule, the feminine noun работа changes its ending from -а to -ы.
Could I use потому что to say 'because' in this sentence instead?
No, because they have different grammatical jobs! Потому что (because) is a conjunction used to connect two full phrases with verbs (like 'He does not go out because he is working'). Из-за is a preposition used directly before a noun to mean 'because of' (like 'because of work').
Doesn't гуляет normally mean 'walks'? Why is it translated as 'go out' here?
The verb гулять literally means to walk or stroll, but it specifically implies spending time outside for leisure or pleasure. In conversational Russian, it often translates better as 'to go out,' 'to hang out,' or 'to have free time.' In this sentence, it just means he is too busy with work to have any leisure time outside.
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