11 Ways to Express Cause in French
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 9:49 am
Because, since, thanks to, these words allow us to express the cause in French. So, how do we use these words correctly? How do we vary them so as not to always use the same word? What are the differences between these words that express the cause? This is what we are going to see in today's episode.
Hello and thanks for joining me for this new video. You have to explain to your friend why you can't go to his wedding, you have to give the reasons for your absence from the office? In French, there are many ways to express the cause. Some are used to express a positive reason; others to express a negative reason. Some terms are used more orally; others more in writing. So let's see how to use these words correctly.
But before that, I inform you that you can download your free PDF sheet . You will find it in the first link in the description of this video. And we will take the 11 synonyms and 11 ways to russia whatsapp number data express the cause in French with the explanation and the examples. You can download it now or you can do it after watching this video.
First: Because.
This is probably the best-known way to express cause in French. It is used a lot in speech and it is really used in everyday life. It is used to answer the question "why", quite simply.
For example, if someone asks you: "Why didn't you come yesterday?" you can answer: "Because I had too much work."
You notice that it is placed in the middle of the sentence. In fact, it is placed before the cause.
Second: Because.
Very used, very well-known too, because it is a small word that is very easy to express. It is used in exactly the same way as "because". The only small difference is that "because" is used a little more in writing than in speaking and that it is a little more formal than "because". Basically, to summarize, "because" is rather used in speaking in everyday language and "because" is rather used in written language in a slightly more formal way.
For example, you might hear: Her eyes are swollen because she cried a lot.
It is also placed in the middle of the sentence before the expressed cause.
Third: Since.
He introduces a cause that everyone knows about.
For example, if someone says: "It's going to be 27 degrees tomorrow", someone else might say: "Oh well since it's going to be nice, we can have a picnic".
Here you can notice the nuance between "since" and "because", because we could very well have used "because" instead of "since".
We can say: "we could have a picnic in the park since the weather is going to be nice" or even: "we could have a picnic in the park because the weather is going to be nice".
In the first case, when we use "since", both people who are speaking know that the weather is going to be nice. In the second case, the interlocutor learns that the weather is going to be nice when he hears the sentence. When he hears "because it is going to be nice", he learns at that moment that the weather is going to be good. He did not know that before. It is the little subtlety that there is between "since", where everyone knew the cause before, and "because", which is used to indicate this cause.
In general, “since” is placed at the beginning of a sentence, but sometimes it is also found in the middle of a sentence.
Fourth: As.
It is a way of expressing the cause, and "like" is always put at the beginning of the sentence.
For example: As my son was sick, we cancelled the trip.
The cause is that my son was sick, and the consequence is that we cancelled the trip. But we wouldn't say: "we cancelled the trip because my son was sick", because "as" is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
Fifth: On the pretext that.
This expression is used when the interlocutor doubts whether the cause is in fact real.
For example: David did not come to work because his son was sick.
Here, the one who says this sentence, he indicates a cause. The cause of his absence, of David's absence, is that his son was sick. But by saying "on the pretext that", he expresses a doubt. Perhaps in the end his son was not sick and he did not want to come to work.
Sixth: Given that.
We use it when we notice something.
For example: Since it's raining, we can't go outside and play football.
Here, we see a cause, we see that it is raining and that we cannot go outside to play. And the fact that it is raining is the cause of the inability to go outside to play.
So far, we have seen phrases or words that introduce a proposition, that is, a part of a sentence with a verb. Now, we are going to see words or phrases that introduce a common noun, always to express the cause, of course.
You see, here, "because of" is negative. It is very negative to have a toothache. And you have to be careful not to use "because of" for something positive. We wouldn't say: "Because of the Authentic French Academy, I speak French", we would say: "Thanks to the Authentic French Academy, I speak French". So here, to express a positive cause, we use "thanks to", and when the cause is negative, we use "because of".
Hello and thanks for joining me for this new video. You have to explain to your friend why you can't go to his wedding, you have to give the reasons for your absence from the office? In French, there are many ways to express the cause. Some are used to express a positive reason; others to express a negative reason. Some terms are used more orally; others more in writing. So let's see how to use these words correctly.
But before that, I inform you that you can download your free PDF sheet . You will find it in the first link in the description of this video. And we will take the 11 synonyms and 11 ways to russia whatsapp number data express the cause in French with the explanation and the examples. You can download it now or you can do it after watching this video.
First: Because.
This is probably the best-known way to express cause in French. It is used a lot in speech and it is really used in everyday life. It is used to answer the question "why", quite simply.
For example, if someone asks you: "Why didn't you come yesterday?" you can answer: "Because I had too much work."
You notice that it is placed in the middle of the sentence. In fact, it is placed before the cause.
Second: Because.
Very used, very well-known too, because it is a small word that is very easy to express. It is used in exactly the same way as "because". The only small difference is that "because" is used a little more in writing than in speaking and that it is a little more formal than "because". Basically, to summarize, "because" is rather used in speaking in everyday language and "because" is rather used in written language in a slightly more formal way.
For example, you might hear: Her eyes are swollen because she cried a lot.
It is also placed in the middle of the sentence before the expressed cause.
Third: Since.
He introduces a cause that everyone knows about.
For example, if someone says: "It's going to be 27 degrees tomorrow", someone else might say: "Oh well since it's going to be nice, we can have a picnic".
Here you can notice the nuance between "since" and "because", because we could very well have used "because" instead of "since".
We can say: "we could have a picnic in the park since the weather is going to be nice" or even: "we could have a picnic in the park because the weather is going to be nice".
In the first case, when we use "since", both people who are speaking know that the weather is going to be nice. In the second case, the interlocutor learns that the weather is going to be nice when he hears the sentence. When he hears "because it is going to be nice", he learns at that moment that the weather is going to be good. He did not know that before. It is the little subtlety that there is between "since", where everyone knew the cause before, and "because", which is used to indicate this cause.
In general, “since” is placed at the beginning of a sentence, but sometimes it is also found in the middle of a sentence.
Fourth: As.
It is a way of expressing the cause, and "like" is always put at the beginning of the sentence.
For example: As my son was sick, we cancelled the trip.
The cause is that my son was sick, and the consequence is that we cancelled the trip. But we wouldn't say: "we cancelled the trip because my son was sick", because "as" is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
Fifth: On the pretext that.
This expression is used when the interlocutor doubts whether the cause is in fact real.
For example: David did not come to work because his son was sick.
Here, the one who says this sentence, he indicates a cause. The cause of his absence, of David's absence, is that his son was sick. But by saying "on the pretext that", he expresses a doubt. Perhaps in the end his son was not sick and he did not want to come to work.
Sixth: Given that.
We use it when we notice something.
For example: Since it's raining, we can't go outside and play football.
Here, we see a cause, we see that it is raining and that we cannot go outside to play. And the fact that it is raining is the cause of the inability to go outside to play.
So far, we have seen phrases or words that introduce a proposition, that is, a part of a sentence with a verb. Now, we are going to see words or phrases that introduce a common noun, always to express the cause, of course.
You see, here, "because of" is negative. It is very negative to have a toothache. And you have to be careful not to use "because of" for something positive. We wouldn't say: "Because of the Authentic French Academy, I speak French", we would say: "Thanks to the Authentic French Academy, I speak French". So here, to express a positive cause, we use "thanks to", and when the cause is negative, we use "because of".