To explain the reason or cause for a situation before stating the outcome—like explaining why a deep-sea submarine dive had to be aborted—start your sentence with como.
When used this way, como translates to "as" or "since."
| As we had a critical failure, we decided to abort. | Como tuvimos un fallo crítico, decidimos abortar. |
| Since the indicator was showing a danger, the crew canceled the trip. | Como el indicador mostraba un peligro, la tripulación canceló el viaje. |
The verb following como stays in the normal indicative mood, whether you are talking about the present or the past.
| Since the submarine is submerging very fast, the alarm is ringing. | Como el submarino se está sumergiendo muy rápido, suena la alarma. |
| Since they didn't look at the indicator, they didn't notice the critical failure. | Como no miraron el indicador, no notaron el fallo crítico. |
While you typically use porque (because) when the reason is attached to the middle or end of a statement, como is your go-to word when the reason comes first.
| As the weather was unstable, the captain decided to abort the mission. | Como el clima estaba inestable, el capitán decidió abortar la misión. |
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