FlexiLingoIn one line
parce queis followed by a clause,à cause deby a noun — and the choice between them depends on whether the cause is a clause or a noun.
English marks the same split with "because" and "because of". "Because it rained" (clause) versus "because of the rain" (noun). French does the same thing with two entirely different words —
parce queandà cause de— which is why they get mixed up.
The forms on this page
| Form | Means | Sound |
|---|---|---|
parce que | because — followed by a full clause | /paʁs.kə/ |
car | for — written register, and never starts a sentence | /kaʁ/ |
puisque | since — a reason the listener already knows | /pɥis.kə/ |
grâce à | thanks to — only for a positive cause | /ɡʁa.s‿a/ |
The table
| Word | What follows | Tone | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
parce que /paʁs.kə/ | a clause | neutral | … parce qu'il pleut. |
car /kaʁ/ | a clause (written) | neutral | …, car il pleut. |
puisque /pɥis.kə/ | a clause (a known cause) | neutral | Puisque tu es là, aide-moi. /pɥisk ty ɛ la ɛd mwa/ |
comme /kɔm/ | a clause (sentence-initial) | neutral | Comme il pleut, je reste. /kɔ.m‿il plø ʒə ʁɛst/ |
à cause de /a koz də/ | a noun | negative | À cause de la pluie. /a koz də la plɥi/ |
grâce à /ɡʁa.s‿a/ | a noun | positive | Grâce à toi. /ɡʁas a twa/ |
en raison de /ɑ̃ ʁɛ.zɔ̃ də/ | a noun (formal) | neutral | En raison de la grève. /ɑ̃ ʁɛ.zɔ̃ də la ɡʁɛv/ |
étant donné /e.tɑ̃ dɔ.ne/ | a noun (formal) | neutral | Étant donné la situation. /e.tɑ̃ dɔ.ne la si.ty.a.sjɔ̃/ |
vu /vy/ | a noun (brief) | neutral | Vu l'heure, je pars. /vy lœʁ ʒə paʁ/ |
Four conjunctions, four uses
parce que — the answer to "why"
| Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
— Pourquoi tu pars ? — Parce que j'ai froid. | the one place it opens a sentence | /puʁ.kwa ty paʁ/ · /paʁs.kə ʒe fʁwa/ |
Je pars parce que j'ai froid. | its usual position | /ʒə paʁ paʁs kə ʒe fʁwa/ |
❌
Parce que j'ai froid, je pars.— not accepted in writing.English "because" opens sentences freely, which is why this is one of the most frequent errors. Use
commethere.
car — written only, never sentence-initial
Je pars, car j'ai froid.
Always with a comma before it, always after the main clause. It is virtually unused in speech.
English "for" in the sense of "because" behaves identically — "I'm leaving, for I am cold" — and is equally literary.
puisque — when both parties already know the cause
| Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
Puisque tu es là, aide-moi. | since you're here — the cause is obvious | /pɥisk ty ɛ la ɛd mwa/ |
Puisque tu insistes, d'accord. | since you insist | /pɥis.kə ty ɛ̃.sist da.kɔʁ/ |
The difference from parce que: parce que gives new information; puisque refers to something already established.
This is exactly English "since" versus "because" — "since you're here, help me" — and English draws the line the same way.
comme — cause, always sentence-initial
Comme il pleut, je reste à la maison.
comme never appears mid-sentence in this sense. Mid-sentence it means "like", not "because".
à cause de versus grâce à
Their only difference is the tone of the outcome, and it is marked in exams:
| Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
Grâce à toi, j'ai réussi. | thanks to you, I passed | /ɡʁɑ.s‿a twa ʒe ʁe.y.si/ |
À cause de toi, j'ai raté. | because of you, I failed | /a koz də twa ʒe ʁa.te/ |
En raison de la grève, le train est annulé. | formal and neutral | /ɑ̃ ʁɛ.zɔ̃ də la ɡʁɛv lə tʁɛ̃ ɛ.t‿a.ny.le/ |
English has the same pair — "thanks to" and "because of" — but treats it loosely. English will say "because of you I passed" without anyone objecting. French will not:
à cause decarries blame, and using it for a good outcome sounds wrong.
à cause de and contraction
à cause du bruit /a koz dy bʁɥi/ | de + le |
à cause des enfants /a koz de.z‿ɑ̃.fɑ̃/ | de + les |
grâce au professeur /ɡʁas o pʁo.fɛ.sœʁ/ | à + le |
grâce aux conseils /ɡʁas o kɔ̃.sɛj/ | à + les |
Two routes with no conjunction at all
With en effet
Il n'est pas venu. En effet, il était malade.
en effet explains, but it is not a conjunction — it is a separate sentence.
With a participle or an adjective
Fatigué, il est rentré tôt.— being tired, he went home earlyAyant fini son travail, il est parti.— having finished his work, he left
This structure is formal and scores well in writing. The detail is in gerondif-participe.
English does both of these — "Tired, he went home", "Having finished, he left" — so they need no learning, only remembering that they are available.
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I'm leaving because I'm cold. | Je pars parce que j'ai froid. | /ʒə paʁ paʁs kə ʒe fʁwa/ |
| Why? Because it's late. | Pourquoi ? Parce qu'il est tard. | /puʁ.kwa paʁs ki.l‿ɛ taʁ/ |
| I'm leaving, for I'm tired. | Je pars, car je suis fatigué. | /ʒə paʁ kaʁ ʒə sɥi fa.ti.ɡe/ |
| Since you're here, help me. | Puisque tu es là, aide-moi. | /pɥisk ty ɛ la ɛd mwa/ |
| Since it's raining, I'll stay. | Comme il pleut, je reste. | /kɔ.m‿il plø ʒə ʁɛst/ |
| I didn't go because of the rain. | Je ne suis pas parti à cause de la pluie. | /ʒə nə sɥi pa paʁ.ti a koz də la plɥi/ |
| Thanks to you, I passed. | Grâce à toi, j'ai réussi. | /ɡʁɑ.s‿a twa ʒe ʁe.y.si/ |
| Owing to the strike. | En raison de la grève. | /ɑ̃ ʁɛ.zɔ̃ də la ɡʁɛv/ |
| Given the time, I'm off. | Vu l'heure, je pars. | /vy lœʁ ʒə paʁ/ |
| Tired, he went home early. | Fatigué, il est rentré tôt. | /fa.ti.ɡe i.l‿ɛ ʁɑ̃.tʁe to/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
Parce que il pleut, je reste. | Comme il pleut, je reste. | parce que cannot open a sentence |
Car il pleut, je reste. | Je reste, car il pleut. | car follows the main clause |
à cause de la pluie j'ai réussi | grâce à la pluie | The outcome is positive |
parce que la pluie | à cause de la pluie | parce que needs a clause |
à cause de le bruit | à cause du bruit | The contraction is compulsory |
Comme je pars mid-sentence | parce que je pars | comme is sentence-initial only |
Why so many ways to say one thing
each one views the cause from a different angle
French sees cause from several angles, and each angle has its own word:
| Angle | Word | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| the cause is new information | parce que | /paʁs.kə/ |
| the cause is already known | puisque | /pɥis.kə/ |
| the cause is background | comme | /kɔm/ |
| the cause is a written justification | car | /kaʁ/ |
| the cause was bad | à cause de | /a koz də/ |
| the cause was good | grâce à | /ɡʁa.s‿a/ |
English has a word for nearly every one of these — because, since, as, for, thanks to, because of — and uses them interchangeably far more than French does. "Since it's raining" and "because it's raining" are equivalent in English; puisque and parce que are not equivalent in French.
In exams these distinctions earn marks, because they show you are thinking inside French rather than translating.
A useful exercise: write one sentence with all six and see which reads best. Usually one is clearly better than the rest.
And a structural test that always works:
conjunction + clause —
parce que·car·puisque·commepreposition + noun —à cause de·grâce à·en raison de
If a conjugated verb follows, pick from the first group. If a noun follows, from the second. This is the same test as English "because" versus "because of".