Breakdown of Debido a que el patógeno es de otro país, la prevención es esencial.
ser
to be
de
from / of
el país
the country
que
that / than
otro
other
esencial
essential
debido a
due to
el patógeno
the pathogen
la prevención
the prevention
Questions & Answers about Debido a que el patógeno es de otro país, la prevención es esencial.
Why do we need que after debido a here?
Debido a translates to "due to" and is followed by a noun phrase (like debido al virus). However, because the cause in this sentence is a full clause with a conjugated verb (el patógeno es...), you must add que to connect it. Debido a que translates closer to "due to the fact that" or simply "because."
Could we use gracias a que or por culpa de que instead of debido a que in this sentence?
You wouldn't use gracias a que ("thanks to the fact that") because that implies a positive outcome, whereas a foreign pathogen is a threat. You could casually use por culpa de que ("because of / through the fault of"), but debido a que or a causa de que are the best choices here because they sound objective and formal, fitting the medical context perfectly.
Why does the sentence say la prevención when the English translation just says "prevention"?
In Spanish, when an abstract concept or a general noun is the subject of a sentence, it requires a definite article (el, la, los, las). Therefore, "prevention" must be translated as la prevención.
Why is it de otro país and not de un otro país?
A very common trap for English speakers is translating "another" word-for-word as un otro. In Spanish, otro and otra already mean "another," so you never put un or una in front of them.
Why use es (from ser) in both halves of the sentence instead of está?
The first es expresses origin (es de otro país), which always requires ser. The second es describes an inherent characteristic (la prevención es esencial). Even if a pandemic feels temporary, being "essential" is treated as a fundamental, defining trait of the prevention in this scenario, so ser is required.
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