Con motivo de = a causa de?
Con motivo de la Fiesta Nacional se celebró una velada en la Universidad.
Can I say
A causa de la Fiesta Nacional se celebró una velada en la Universidad?
Regalé unos lápices de colores a mi hermana con motivo del Año Nuevo.
Can I say
Regalé unos lápices de colores a mi hermana a causa del Año nuevo?
Ayer no tuvimos clases con motivo de la visita de unos amigos latinoamericanos.
Can I say
Ayer no tuvimos clases a causa de la visita de unos amigos latinoamericanos?
3 Answers
The slight difference between the two is that "con motivo" is used with a diliberate reason and "a causa de" is used when the reason is uncontrollable.
"A causa de la Fiesta Nacional se celebró una velada en la Universidad." This could be said both ways. Here you are saying la fiesta nacional - that maybe you don´t like or can´t control - is the reason the celebration took place. If the nuance is that it was a planned event, you would use "con motivo."
"Regalé unos lápices de colores a mi hermana con motivo del Año Nuevo." This is the only way you should say this because the action is clearly something you planned - it didn´t just happen on its own accord.
"Ayer no tuvimos clases con motivo de la visita de unos amigos latinoamericanos." This also can be said both ways. Here the actions have been planned. With "a causa de" would mean "la visita" happened without any planning.
"Con motivo de" usually is translated as "On the occasion of", or something like that.
Tim
Yes, and you can also say "debido a que".
