Porque: the most common cause linker
The most common cause linker in Spanish is “Porque”. It usually goes in the middle of the sentence, right before the cause, with this structure: “Oración principal + porque + causa”.
Example (Spanish): “En esta sala hay cinco personas reunidas porque tienen que entregar un proyecto pronto”. In this case, you use indicativo.
Como: putting the cause at the beginning
Another very common cause linker is “Como”. It usually starts the sentence and also uses indicativo. Structure: “Como + causa + oración principal”.
Example (Spanish): “Como la fecha del proyecto está muy cerca, las personas están preocupadas”. Notice the comma between the cause and the main clause.
Ya que, puesto que, visto que, dado que: useful alternatives
Other linkers that are also very common are “Ya que…”, “Puesto que…”, “Visto que…” and “Dado que…”. In all cases, they are followed by the cause in indicativo. You can use them at the beginning or in the middle of the sentence.
Examples (Spanish): “Puesto que el proyecto consiste en construir un edificio, tienen una maqueta del mismo sobre la mesa” or “Tienen una maqueta sobre la mesa, ya que el proyecto consiste en la construcción de un edificio”.
“Visto que…” and “Dado que…” are slightly more formal than the previous ones, but they are still common in Spanish, and you can use them in both your written and oral DELE tasks.
Gracias a and por culpa de: positive vs negative cause
There are two more cause expressions that are not as frequent, but they’re easy to use in the exam. These are “Gracias a…” and “Por culpa de…”, and they have opposite meanings.
“Gracias a…” introduces a positive cause, while “Por culpa de…” introduces a negative cause. In both cases, they are usually followed by a noun or by the cause you want to mention.
Examples (Spanish): “Gracias a que ya han trabajado juntos antes, el proyecto está siendo un éxito”. You can also say: “Gracias al haber trabajado juntos antes, el proyecto está siendo exitoso”. Instead of a verb, you can use a noun: “Gracias a una buena planificación, van a poder entregar el proyecto a tiempo”.
Opposite example (Spanish): “Por culpa de un error en los cálculos, han tenido que rehacer el proyecto”, or “Por culpa de que se equivocaron haciendo un cálculo, han tenido que repetir la reunión”.
Por + infinitivo and de tanto + infinitivo: two very practical structures
Finally, here are two more structures that express the cause or reason of the main sentence: “Por + infinitivo (causa)” and “De tanto + infinitivo (causa)”. You can use them at the beginning or in the middle of the sentence.
Examples (Spanish): “De tanto debatir, las personas han decido empezar el proyecto de nuevo” or “Las personas han decidido empezar el proyecto de nuevo, de tanto debatir”.
More examples with “Por” (Spanish): “Por insistir, han conseguido hacer cambiar al resto de opinión”.
To finish: a quick practice tip before the exam
Easy, right? Try practising with these linkers when you’re preparing for a written or oral task. They’ll really help you express the cause or reason for anything.
If you want to prepare with more confidence
By the way, if you’re preparing for the DELE and you want help to feel more confident and go into the exam with more security, you can join my online preparation courses for all levels: https://aporeldele.com/cursos
