Breakdown of Hay mucha gente enferma por culpa de una higiene inadecuada.
de
from / of
una
a, an (feminine)
mucho
many / a lot
enfermo
sick
Questions & Answers about Hay mucha gente enferma por culpa de una higiene inadecuada.
Why use por culpa de here instead of a neutral connector like debido a?
We learned about por culpa de que. Why is there no que in this sentence?
You use por culpa de (without que) when it is followed directly by a noun or noun phrase, like una higiene inadecuada (improper hygiene). You only add que when introducing a clause with a new subject and a conjugated verb, for example: por culpa de que no se lavan las manos (because they do not wash their hands).
"People" is plural, so why does the sentence use the singular mucha gente enferma?
In Spanish, the word gente is a collective noun that is singular and feminine. Even though it refers to a group of people, the adjectives and quantifiers describing it must match its grammatical form, which is why we use the singular feminine forms mucha and enferma.
Could we use gracias a instead of por culpa de to say "thanks to" sarcastically?