a causa de + inf

Question

I'm wondering if you can use a causa de + inf. in the following way:

Ya que no he tenido suficiente tiempo ni dinero, a causa de estar en el colegio, no tengo una media naranja en este momento.

I haven't seen it used, but I think it works. I also think that a causa de can be replaced by por. Also, can infinitives always follow prepositions?

Answer 1

"A causa de + infinitive/que + verb" sounds, in my opinion, a bit too formal or literary, if not unnecessarily elaborated, because it is much easier and quicker to simply say "por" instead of "a causa de" and "porque" instead of "a causa de que". This structure is mostly used with nouns -with verbs it is hard to find it.

Also, can infinitives always follow prepositions?

Infinitives behave most of the time like nouns. Can a noun follow a preposition? So can an infinitive (most of the time).

A causa de que estoy.

Correct, although the style is too pompous for me.

Edit: Debido al hecho de que estoy

Correct too, but "Debido a que estoy" is more elegant in my opinion.

I understand your suggestion Jeezle, but lately I have been seeing the que dropped and the infinitive replacing the conjugated verb. Especially a lot with the subjunctive.

Explaining that is not an easy task, and definitely not one that can be accomplished in just a few words, I'm afraid. There are many circumstances where a subordinate with "que" can freely alternate with an infinitive, but the infinitive in these cases is often the best option. Infinitives are used when its subject can be easily reconstructed from the overall sentence; the pseudo-rule of the "change of subject" works quite often, but there are many cases where it doesn't, so it is not a real rule.

Answer 2

Anyone?

Great grammar question! - chris126, May 5, 2011

Answer 3

, no tengo una media naranja en este momento.

Are you aware that "mi media naranja " means my better half, girlfriend or boyfriend or something?

Yes, that is what I meant. - pescador1, May 4, 2011

Answer 4

a noun/pronoun must be the object of a proposition

Did you mean this the other way around? Obviously they can be subjects, direct objects, etc.

Answer 5

I understand your suggestion Jeezle, but lately I have been seeing the que dropped and the infinitive replacing the conjugated verb. Especially a lot with the subjunctive.

Here is an example:

Sigue luchando con tal de que obtenga lo que es suyo.

or

Sigue luchando con tal de obtener lo que es suyo.

Ok, I'm curious too. - jeezzle, May 4, 2011

subject change?? - 0074b507, May 4, 2011

Answer 6

I'm not sure about using the "a cuasa de" + inf, but I think the infinitive verb form has to follow a preposition.

a noun/pronoun must be the object of a proposition. estar en el colegio is a noun phrase=being in high school - 0074b507, May 4, 2011

Spanish verb infinitives often function as nouns ending in ing (the English gerund) - 0074b507, May 4, 2011

I think I worded it wrong. What I meant was that if a verb follows a preposition, the verb must be in the infinitive - baron2ci, May 4, 2011

I wasn't correcting you if that is what you thought. I think your meaning was clear and correct, I was just adding infromation. - 0074b507, May 4, 2011

Answer 7

A causa de que estoy.

Edit: Debido al hecho de que estoy

I'm curious to see a native answer to see if your "noun phrase" can support a cause de or debido de without the que preposition, I will be surprised if it does work. - jeezzle, May 4, 2011