Learn Russian: Из-за того что шёл дождь, мы остались дома. - Because it was raining, we stayed at home.

While потому что is a neutral way to say 'because', из-за того что emphasizes an external obstacle. The preposition из-за often points to a negative cause or hindrance, so it fits perfectly here to show that the rain blocked or ruined any plans to go outside.

Why do we need the word того in this phrase? Can I just say из-за что?

Russian prepositions cannot attach directly to a subordinate clause starting with что. Because the preposition из-за requires the genitive case, you must use the pronoun то in the genitive (того) as a bridge. The whole phrase literally means 'because of the fact that'.

Why is the verb шёл placed before the subject дождь?

In Russian, placing the verb before the subject often shifts the focus to the occurrence of the event itself. Saying шёл дождь highlights the existence of the rain as the key piece of information causing the change of plans, which sounds much more natural here than дождь шёл.

Why do we use the imperfective verb шёл alongside the perfective verb остались?