Causality with adjectives and nouns (por)

Pointing Fingers with "Por"

When you find yourself helplessly lost in a giant hedge maze, you might need to explain why things went wrong. In Spanish, you can use the preposition por to express the direct cause of a situation, a mistake, or an action.

To say "because of" or "out of" a certain emotion or reason, use por followed by a noun.

He always turns to the right out of pride.
Él siempre gira a la derecha por orgullo.
I can't find the exit because of desperation.
No encuentro la salida por la desesperación.

You can also use por followed by an adjective. In this case, it usually translates to "for being [adjective]" and is a great way to blame your current predicament on a foolish trait!

We are trapped in this giant maze for being fools.
Estamos atrapados en este laberinto gigante por tontos.

Whether it is a noun or an adjective, por smoothly connects the consequence (being trapped, turning the wrong way) directly to its root cause.

She went to the left because of a stupid mistake.
Ella fue a la izquierda por una estupidez.