Explaining Reasons Formally
When dealing with local government paperwork or formal requests, you often need formal ways to explain why something is happening.
While you already know porque (because), formal and administrative Spanish frequently uses ya que (since) and puesto que (given that). Because these connectors introduce an established fact as the cause, they are always followed by the indicative mood.
| The paperwork is slow, given that there are few civil servants. | El papeleo es lento, puesto que hay pocos funcionarios. |
| You have to fill in the formal request, since the paperwork is mandatory. | Tienes que rellenar la instancia, ya que el papeleo es obligatorio. |
| They denied the formal request, given that I didn't attach the ID. | Denegaron la instancia, puesto que no adjunté el DNI. |
Seeing That...
Another useful formal connector is en vista de que (seeing that). It is used when a circumstance has become obvious or an administrative ruling has been made. Like the others, it triggers the indicative.
| Seeing that the ruling was negative, they didn't give the license. | En vista de que la resolución fue negativa, no dieron la licencia. |
| Seeing that he lives here, he has to register with the municipality soon. | En vista de que vive aquí, tiene que empadronarse pronto. |
Sentence Position
These causal connectors are flexible. You can place them in the middle of a sentence to explain the preceding action, or at the beginning to state the cause before the result.
| I am going to appeal the ruling, since it is very unfair. | Voy a recurrir la resolución, ya que es muy injusta. |
| Given that he wanted to appeal, it was better that you went there. | Puesto que él quería recurrir, era mejor que tú fueras allí. |
| Are you going to register with the municipality today, given that you have the paperwork? | ¿Te vas a empadronar hoy, puesto que tienes el papeleo? |
