How to Use the French Expression 'à Cause de' ('Because of')

À cause de, pronounced "ah koz deu," is a French prepositional phrase that means 'because of" or "due to." Depending on whether the context is negative or positive, it can also be translated as: "on account of, owing to" or "for the sake of."

Essentially, à cause de blames someone or something for a negative situation or event, as in:

•    J'ai oublié mes clés à cause de l'appel de Philippe. > I forgot my keys because of/on account of Philippe's phone call.
•    A cause de la mauvaise économie, j'ai perdu mon emploi. > Due to / owing to the bad economy, I lost my job.

A cause de can also be used for a neutral situation or event, something that deserves neither blame nor credit, as in:

•    Je l'ai pardonné à cause de son âge. > I forgave him considering his age.
•    Il va venir à la fête à cause de toi. > He's going to come to the party for your sake.

To say "it's because of/due to ..." use c'est in front of à cause de, as in:

•    C'est à cause de cette décision que nous nous sommes disputés. > It's due to that decision that we argued.

Remember that de followed by the definite article le or les must contract:

•    J'ai paniqué à cause du bruit. > I panicked because of the noise.
•    Il est parti à cause des enfants. > He left because of the children.

To give credit for something positive, use the expression grâce à (thanks to), as in:

• Grâce à ton assistance, il a fini le travail. > Thanks to your help, he finished the work.
• Grâce aux conseils de Pierre, nous avons trouvé la maison parfaite. > Thanks to Pierre's advice, we found the perfect house.
•  S'il a réussi à l'examen, c'est grâce à toi. > If he passed the test, it's all thanks to you.

• Expressions with à
• Expressions with de
• Most common French phrases