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Por los nervios, no pude dormir anoche.

Por los nervios, no pude dormir anoche.
Because of nerves, I couldn't sleep last night.
From Lesson 488:Nerves and thoughts (los nervios, tranquilizar, la conciencia)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Por los nervios, no pude dormir anoche.

Why is por used here to mean "because of"?
In Spanish, por is used to indicate the cause or reason for an action. You cannot use para here, because para indicates a purpose or destination ("in order to").
Why is the article los required before nervios when English just says "nerves"?
Spanish requires definite articles (el, la, los, las) when referring to abstract concepts, feelings, or general categories. While English drops the article in phrases like "because of nerves", Spanish keeps it to talk about the general state of nervousness.
Why use the preterite pude instead of the imperfect podía?
The time marker anoche (last night) restricts the action to a specific, completed timeframe, which triggers the preterite. Additionally, the negative preterite no pude carries the specific nuance that you actually tried to sleep but failed. No podía would merely describe the ongoing background state of being unable to sleep.
Can the word order be changed to put por los nervios at the end of the sentence?
Yes, No pude dormir anoche por los nervios is perfectly natural. Moving por los nervios to the front of the sentence simply places extra emphasis on the reason why you couldn't sleep.

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