Breakdown of Он опаздывает из-за того что нет автобуса.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
автобус
bus
опаздывать
to be late
из-за того что
because (of the fact that)
Questions & Answers about Он опаздывает из-за того что нет автобуса.
Why use из-за того что instead of just потому что?
Both translate to because, but из-за specifically highlights an external and usually negative cause (due to, on account of). Since из-за is a preposition, it can only attach to a noun or pronoun. To connect it to a full clause like нет автобуса, we must use the bridge phrase того что (the fact that).
Why is it того in this sentence?
The preposition из-за always requires the genitive case. In the phrase из-за того что, the preposition is acting on the pronoun то (that), so it changes to its genitive form, того.
Why is the word for bus in the genitive case (автобуса)?
Expressing the absence or non-existence of something with the word нет always requires the missing object to be in the genitive case.
If he is already late, why is опаздывает in the present tense?
The imperfective verb опаздывать describes the process of running late. Он опаздывает means he is currently on his way and running late. If he had already arrived and the lateness was a completed fact, you would use the past perfective: Он опоздал.