À cause de


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Accusatory French Expression

Meaning	because of, due to
Literally	in cause of
Register	normal
Pronunciation		[ah koz deu]
IPA		[a koz də]

Usage notes: When something bad happens, you can place blame with the French expression à cause de.

Par exemple…

J’ai perdu le dossier à cause du déménagement.		I lost the file due to the move.
À cause de l’attentat, les négociations ont échoué.		Due to the attack, the negotiations failed.

Note that à cause de can only be followed by a noun. If you want explain the reason something happened with a verb, you need the somewhat synonymous conjunction parce que, e.g., … parce que j’ai déménagé.

À cause de can also introduce a neutral event or situation which merits neither credit nor blame.

Par exemple…

Je le croyais américain à cause de sa casquette de base-ball.		I thought he was American due to his baseball cap.
Elle prépare le dîner ce soir à cause de toi.		She’s making dinner tonight because of you / for your sake.

Synomyms

Dû à tends to be used for assigning blame rather than for neutral events / situations.
En raison de tends to be used for neutral events / situations rather than assigning blame.

Use c’est in front of à cause de to say "it’s because of / due to…"

Par exemple…

C’est à cause de votre départ que nous avons perdu ces clients.		It’s because of your departure that we lost those clients.
Si je rate mon examen, c’est à cause de toutes ces interruptions !		If I fail my test, it’s due to all of these interruptions!

As always, de + definite article le or les = required contraction:

Par exemple…

Le chien avait peur à cause du tonnerre.		The dog was afraid because of the thunder.
J’étais malade à cause des œufs pourris.		I was sick due to the rotten eggs.

Antonym: grâce à – thanks to (gives credit for something positive)