The French Expression àCause 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. With Blame Essentially, à   cause de blames someone or something for a negative situation or event, as in:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai oublià © mes clà ©s à   cause de lappel de Philippe.   I forgot my keys because of/on account of Philippes phone call.  Ã‚  Ã‚  A cause de la mauvaise à ©conomie, jai perdu mon emploi.   Due to / owing to  the bad economy, I lost my job. Without the Blame A cause de can also be used for a neutral situation or event, something that deserves neither blame nor credit, as in:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Je lai pardonnà © à   cause de son à ¢ge.   I forgave him considering his age.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il va venir à   la fà ªte à   cause de toi.   Hes going to come to the party for your sake. With Cest To say its because of/due to ... use cest in front of à   cause de, as in:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Cest à   cause de cette dà ©cision que nous nous sommes disputà ©s.   Its due to that decision that we argued. Remember the Contraction Remember that de followed by the definite article le or les must contract:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai paniquà © à   cause du bruit.   I panicked because of the noise.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il est parti à   cause des enfants.   He left because of the children. An Antonym To give credit for something positive, use the expression grà ¢ce à  Ã‚  (thanks to), as in: Grà ¢ce à   ton assistance, il a fini le travail.   Thanks to your help, he finished the work.Grà ¢ce aux conseils de Pierre, nous avons trouvà © la maison parfaite.   Thanks to Pierres advice, we found the perfect house.  Sil a rà ©ussi à   lexamen, cest grà ¢ce à   toi.   If he passed the test, its all thanks to you. Additional Resources Expressions with à  Expressions with deMost common French phrases