📖LearnModule 2 · Lesson 9 of 30Basic User · CEFR A1, completedUnit 2 · Questions
Por qué and porque — why and because
Module 2 of the free Spanish course (CEFR A1, completed), lesson 9 of 30: Por qué asks why, in two words with an accent, porque answers it. On this page: 7 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
por qué
why
pohr KEH
porque
because
POHR-keh
¿por qué no?
why not?
pohr keh NOH
porque me gusta
because I like it
POHR-keh meh GOOS-tah
la respuesta
the answer
lah rrehs-PWEHS-tah
preguntar
to ask
preh-goon-TAR
contestar
to answer
kohn-tehs-TAR
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Por qué asks why, in two words with an accent; porque answers it, in one word with no accent: ¿Por qué te gusta el sábado? — ¡Porque no hay clase!
Y también · And also
The pair looks like a trick and is not: the question is split and stressed on qué (pohr KEH); the answer is glued and stressed on por (POHR-keh). Say them aloud and the two shapes stay apart.
Ojo · Watch out
¿por qué? (two words, accent) asks; porque (one word, no accent) answers. Write the space and the accent in the question, and neither in the answer.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with por qué.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 9 in Module 2 are the written half of this page.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.