In almost every language, compound sentences help us communicate better. In Spanish, some of those compound sentences are “subordinate clauses”.
If you are a Spanish learner, you may have heard about them since they are very popular and speakers use them frequently.
There are several types of subordinate clauses.
However, the ones that are pretty handy when explaining why you did something are causal adverbial subordinate clauses.
Even though their name is pretty long and they may sound complex, they are very easy to use.
Also, they might save the day in several situations. Thus, learning how to use them is essential.
Keep reading this short explanation if you want to improve your Spanish skills and add this wonderful tool to your toolbox.
After you finish your reading, you’ll be able to not only identify these kinds of sentences but how to use them properly!
What’s a causal adverbial subordinate clause?
The first thing we need to learn is what, in fact, a subordinate clause is.
Also, in a few words, a subordinate clause is a compound sentence that has three parts.
The first part is the main sentence or the sentence with a high hierarchy.
Second, we have a connector word or a nexo as we call it in Spanish.
Then, we have the subordinate clause or the sentence with a lower hierarchy that depends on the main sentence.
We say that an oración subordinada is “causal adverbial” when you can use it to replace an adverbial and express the reason why an action was carried out.
These sentences usually use causal links. In other words, the connector word you should use with these sentences expresses “the reason why”.
Some typical nexos causales used by Spanish speakers are por and porque.
At this point, you still might feel lost.
- Nonetheless, to clear your mind and give you a better picture of how these sentences look, let’s see some examples below:
Suspendieron la excursión por el mal tiempo.
The tour was canceled due to bad weather.
Hay hielo en la carretera porque anoche hizo mucho frío.
There is ice on the road because it was very cold last night.
What is a causal link?
In a few words, a causal link is a word that we use to connect two sentences and build a subordinate clause.
The special thing about a causal link is that Spanish speakers use them to explain the cause of the main sentence.
- Let’s see the example below to get a better appreciation of what this means:
Lo hace porque es lo justo.
He does it because it’s fair.
In the example above, the main sentence would be lo hace. The connector word or causal link is porque. And, the subordinate sentence would be es lo justo.
With this in mind, we are saying that the reason why or cause of lo hace is porque es lo justo.
There are other words or phrases we can use to connect two sentences and express “the reason why”.
Some of the alternatives you have apart from porque and por are a causa de, como, con motivo de, dado que, pero, pues, ya que, and visto que.
How to use causal adverbial subordinate clauses?
At this point, you know why we use causal adverbial subordinate clauses.
Additionally, you know what connectors you can use to build a causal adverbial subordinate clause.
Also, the last thing you should learn is what structures you should use and how to conjugate verbs in these sentences.
Below are listed 3 common structures or formulas you can use to build causal adverbial subordinate clauses.
Main sentence + porque + subordinate sentence with a verb in the indicative form.
Main sentence + por + subordinate sentence with a verb in the infinitive form.
Como + subordinate sentence with a verb in the indicative form + comma + main sentence.
In most cases, you’ll use verbs in the infinitive or indicative form when you want to build a causal adverbial subordinate clause.
Nevertheless, if you have connector phrases like no porque or no es que you should use the verb in the subjunctive form.
- Let’s see some examples for each case below:
Escribo porque tengo ganas. (Indicative)
I write because I want to.
Camino con el perro todos los días por hacer ejercicio. (Infinitive)
I walk the dog every day for exercise.
Como no viniste ayer, pensé que habías salido de vacaciones. (Indicative)
Since you didn’t come yesterday, I thought you had gone on vacation.
No es que no me interese el tema, es que lo hemos repetido muchas veces. (Subjunctive)
It’s not that I’m not interested in the topic, it’s that we’ve repeated it many times.
No porque me grites, lo voy a entender mejor. (Subjunctive)
Not because you yell at me, I’ll understand better.
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Causal adverbial subordinate clauses
This is the end of the road for this explanation but, before we go, let’s point out a few things.
First, causal adverbial subordinate clauses are only to express the reason or motive why an action was carried out.
Second, it’s mandatory to use a nexo causal. Otherwise, you are not building these sentences properly.
Third, the typical verb conjugation is either in the infinitive form or in the indicative.
On the other hand, if you have the need to use causal links like no porque or no es que you must conjugate the verb in the subjunctive form.
Finally, keep in mind the formulas we showed you to build causal adverbial subordinate clauses.
They will be helpful if you have no idea where to start. Remember that practicing is key to improving your Spanish.
So, waste no time, and good luck!