Question 1

Why use a causa de here instead of just porque?

Accepted Answer

Porque translates to "because" and must be followed by a conjugated verb forming a full clause. A causa de translates to "because of" or "due to" and is followed by a noun or noun phrase. In this sentence, it is followed by the noun phrase un patógeno peligroso without a verb.

Question 2

Since the pathogen is to blame for the illness, could we use por culpa de instead of a causa de?

Accepted Answer

Yes, por culpa de works perfectly here because the outcome is clearly negative. A causa de is simply a bit more neutral and formal, reading more like an objective medical or news report ("due to"), whereas por culpa de places direct blame ("it is the fault of").

Question 3

The current lesson mentions a causa de que. Why is the que missing in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

You only add que to these causal connectors when introducing a clause with a conjugated verb. Since this sentence continues with just a noun phrase (un patógeno peligroso), we drop the que. If you wanted to use a verb, you would need it: A causa de que el queso tiene un patógeno...

Question 4

Even though the illness is serious, why do we use está muy enfermo instead of es muy enfermo?

Accepted Answer

Illness and physical health are treated as states or conditions in Spanish, so they almost always require estar, regardless of how serious or long-lasting the illness might be. Saying someone es enfermo changes the meaning entirely, implying their fundamental identity is being an invalid or a "sickly person" by nature.

A causa de un patógeno peligroso en el queso, un paciente está muy enfermo.

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