Learn Spanish (Latin America): El niño llora porque tiene miedo.

El niño llora porque tiene miedo.

The boy cries because he is afraid.

Breakdown of El niño llora porque tiene miedo.

Questions & Answers about El niño llora porque tiene miedo.

Why is "porque" written as one word without an accent here?

In Spanish, porque written as one word without an accent means "because". It connects an action to its reason. If you want to ask "why?", you write it as two words with an accent mark: ¿por qué?

The translation says "he is afraid", but doesn't "tiene" mean "he has"?

Yes, literally this translates to "he has fear". While English uses the verb "to be" for feelings like fear, hunger, or thirst, Spanish uses the verb tener (to have). So, to say someone is afraid, you say they "have fear" (tener miedo).

Why isn't there a word for "he" before "tiene"?

Spanish often drops subject pronouns like él (he) when it is already clear who is doing the action. Since we just talked about el niño (the boy) in the first part of the sentence, it is obvious that he is the one who is afraid.

Do I need to put a comma before "porque"?

Usually, no. Just like in English, when you use porque (because) in the middle of a sentence to give a direct reason for an action, you do not need a comma before it.