With a noun: debido a, a causa de
For a cause that is a single noun you know por (Lo cancelaron por la lluvia). In the news, in notices and at work, Spanish often prefers debido a (due to) and a causa de (because of). Both take a noun, and a / de + el contract as usual: debido al frío, a causa del tráfico.
The typical announcement: the result first, the cause after it.
| They have canceled the flight due to the fog. | Han cancelado el vuelo debido a la niebla. |
At the start of the sentence, the cause gets a comma.
| Due to the strike, there are no trains today. | Debido a la huelga, hoy no hay trenes. |
| We arrived late because of the traffic. | Llegamos tarde a causa del tráfico. |
With a whole clause: debido a que
To give the cause as a sentence with its own verb, add que. The verb is normally in the indicative, because the cause is presented as a fact, as with ya que and puesto que.
| I didn't come due to the fact that I was sick. | No vine debido a que estaba enfermo. |
A causa de que exists too, but it is much less common; with a clause, debido a que or plain porque is usually the natural choice.
| The train stopped because of the fact that there was snow. | El tren se paró a causa de que había nieve. |
Noun or clause?
| with a noun | with a verb |
|---|---|
| debido a la lluvia | debido a que llovía |
| a causa del viento | a causa de que hacía viento |
| por la huelga | porque había huelga |
| They closed the beach because of the wind. | Cerraron la playa a causa del viento. |
| They closed the beach due to the fact that it was very windy. | Cerraron la playa debido a que hacía mucho viento. |
Common mistakes
- debido a llovía → debido a que llovía or debido a la lluvia.
- debido de la huelga → debido a la huelga.
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