“Por qué” is used to ask the reason, “porque” is used to give a cause, “porqué” is a masculine noun, “por que” is the same as “porque” but is in disuse.
It is not surprising that many people have doubts about which of these words is the correct one when writing. In this post we are going to see the difference with examples.
When do we use “por qué”?
Por qué is an adverbial term used in interrogative sentences to ask for a reason, cause or motive. It’s the same as “why” in questions.
Examples:
¿Por qué cancelaste la suscripción?
(Why did you cancel the subscription?)
¿Por qué has comprado ese libro?
(Why did you buy that book?)
¿Por qué tomas clases de idiomas?
(Why are you taking language classes?)
When do we use “porque”?
We use the word porque to give a reason, cause or motive. Usually as an answer to a question with ¿Por qué …? It’s the same as “because”.
Examples:
¿Por qué cancelaste la suscripción? Porque no he usado el servicio en semanas.
(Why did you cancel the subscription? Because I haven’t used the service in weeks.)
¿Por qué has comprado ese libro? Porque escuche muy buenas reseñas.
(Why did you buy that book? Because I heard very good reviews.)
¿Por qué tomas clases de idiomas? Porque quiero viajar y usar el idioma para conocer gente.
(Why do you take language classes? Because I want to travel and use the language to meet people.)
When do we use “porqué”?
The word “porqué” means cause, reason or motive and we use it as a noun.
It’s the same use as in English when we say “The prime minister should be able to make a decision without having to explain all the whys and wherefores to a bunch of journalists” (Macmillan Dictionary) in order to give a reason or explanation.
Examples:
No explicaste el porqué de tu decisión.
(You did not explain the reason for your decision.)
La justicia deberá investigar el porqué.
(The courts will have to investigate why.)
When do we use “por que”?
The word “por que” has the same meaning as “porque” although it is in disuse, so it is not common to use it.
