In short

This lesson lets you glue two events together by their logic: a cause (“because…”), a purpose (“in order to…”), and a result (“…therefore”). Modern Hebrew has a neat set of connectors for each, and the single most important thing to get right is what each one is allowed to take after it — a whole clause (subject + verb), or just a noun.

The everyday split is simple. To attach a full reason-clause you use כי (ki) or מפני ש־ (mipnei she-). To attach a noun as the cause you use בגלל (biglal) or, for a welcome cause, בזכות (bizchut). For purpose you use כדי (kedei) — with an infinitive when the subject stays the same, and with כדי ש־ (kedei she-) + a future verb when the subject changes. And to spell out a consequence you front the cause and follow it with לכן (lachen, “therefore”) or the casual אז (az, “so”).

The rule

• Cause as a clause: כי and מפני ש־. When the reason is a whole sentence (it has its own subject and verb), join it with כי (ki) or מפני ש־ (mipnei she-). כי is the everyday workhorse and normally comes after the main clause: לא באתי כי הייתי חולה (lo bati ki hayiti choleh, “I didn’t come because I was ill”). מפני ש־ means the same “because” and reads a touch more careful; its ש fuses onto the next word: נשארנו בבית מפני שירד גשם (nisharnu ba-bayit mipnei she-yarad geshem, “we stayed home because it was raining”). Both take a clause — never a bare noun.

• Literary cause-connectors: כיוון ש־ and משום ש־. In writing and formal speech you will meet כיוון ש־ (keivan she-, “since / seeing that”) and משום ש־ (mishum she-, “because / owing to the fact that”). They mean the same as מפני ש־ and are especially natural when the reason is fronted to the start of the sentence: כיוון שלא היה זמן, דחינו את הפגישה (keivan she-lo haya zman, dachinu et ha-pgisha, “since there was no time, we postponed the meeting”). Recognise them in text; in speech מפני ש־ (or, colloquially, בגלל ש־) does the job.

• Cause as a noun: בגלל and בזכות. When the cause is just a noun phrase, not a clause, use a preposition: בגלל (biglal, “because of”) for a neutral or unwelcome cause, and בזכות (bizchut, “thanks to”) for a cause you’re grateful for. בגלל הגשם לא יצאנו (biglal ha-geshem lo yatzanu, “because of the rain we didn’t go out”); בזכותך הצלחתי במבחן (bizchutcha hitzlachti ba-mivchan, “thanks to you I passed the exam”). Both attach to a noun, never to a clause with a finite verb.

• Purpose, same subject: כדי + infinitive. For “in order to”, when the one who acts and the one who benefits are the same person, use כדי (kedei) followed by the infinitive (see Infinitive (shem ha-po’al) + modals): למדתי עברית כדי לדבר (lamadti ivrit kedei ledaber, “I learned Hebrew in order to speak”); באתי מוקדם כדי לתפוס מקום (bati mukdam kedei litfos makom, “I came early to grab a seat”).

• Purpose, different subject: כדי ש־ + future. When the purpose belongs to someone else, you cannot use a bare infinitive — switch to כדי ש־ (kedei she-) plus a verb in the future tense (see Future tense: pa’al): נתתי לו כסף כדי שיקנה אוכל (natati lo kesef kedei she-yikneh ochel, “I gave him money so that he’d buy food” — he buys); שלחתי לך הודעה כדי שתדע (shalachti lecha hoda’a kedei she-teda, “I sent you a message so you’d know”). Only the future is allowed after כדי ש־ — never the present or the past.

• Colloquial בשביל, formal על מנת / למען. In casual speech בשביל (bishvil) covers both “for [a noun]” and “in order to”: מתנה בשביל אמא (matana bishvil ima, “a present for mom”), עבדתי קשה בשביל להצליח (avadti kashe bishvil lehatzliach, “I worked hard in order to succeed”). In formal register על מנת (al menat) replaces כדי — על מנת להצליח צריך לעבוד קשה (al menat lehatzliach tzarich la’avod kashe) — and למען (lema’an, “for the sake of”) takes a noun: למען המשפחה (lema’an ha-mishpacha).

• Result: לכן, אז, בגלל זה. To draw a consequence, state the cause first and open the second clause with a result-connector. The neutral one is לכן (lachen, “therefore / so”), usually carrying the ו prefix: היה מאוחר ולכן הלכנו הביתה (haya me’uchar ve-lachen halachnu ha-bayta, “it was late and so we went home”). In speech אז (az, “so”) is the casual equivalent: ירד גשם, אז נשארנו בבית (yarad geshem, az nisharnu ba-bayit). בגלל זה (biglal ze, “because of that”) also links a result: שכחתי את המפתחות ובגלל זה חזרתי (shachachti et ha-maftechot u-viglal ze chazarti). Formal writing adds לפיכך (lefichach, “thus”) — recognise it, but say לכן.

Forms & patterns

Cause — connectors that take a whole clause (subject + verb):

Cause — prepositions that take a noun phrase:

Purpose:

Result — connectors that open the consequence:

Examples

Common mistakes

• כדי מתנה -> בשביל מתנה (bishvil matana) - כדי never takes a bare noun; for “for [a noun]” use בשביל (everyday) or למען (formal).
• כדי שהוא קונה אוכל / כדי שהוא קנה אוכל -> כדי שיקנה אוכל (kedei she-yikneh ochel) - after כדי ש the verb must be in the FUTURE, never the present or the past.
• נתתי לו כסף כדי לקנות אוכל (meaning “so he buys”) -> נתתי לו כסף כדי שיקנה אוכל (kedei she-yikneh) - a bare infinitive keeps the first subject (“so I buy”); a different buyer needs כדי ש + future.
• בגלל שירד גשם נשארנו בבית -> מפני שירד גשם נשארנו בבית (mipnei she-yarad geshem) - in writing בגלל ש is substandard; בגלל takes a noun, so to attach a clause use מפני ש / כיוון ש.
• לא יצאנו כי בגלל הגשם -> לא יצאנו בגלל הגשם / לא יצאנו כי ירד גשם - don’t stack כי and בגלל; pick a clause-connector (כי + clause) OR a noun-preposition (בגלל + noun), not both.
• בזכות הפקק איחרתי -> בגלל הפקק איחרתי (biglal ha-pkak) - בזכות is for a welcome cause (“thanks to”); an unwelcome one takes בגלל.
• קי הייתי חולה -> כי הייתי חולה (ki hayiti choleh) - “because” is כי, spelled with כ; ק is a different letter and קי is not a word.

Tips

• Sort the connectors by what FOLLOWS them: a full clause (subject + verb) → כי / מפני ש; a bare noun → בגלל / בזכות. If you’re unsure, ask “is there a verb coming?”
• Same subject for the purpose? Use כדי + infinitive. Different subject? Use כדי ש + future. “I learned to speak” (I speak) = כדי לדבר; “I gave him money so he’d buy” (he buys) = כדי שיקנה.
• Never put a plain noun after כדי. For “for [a person / a thing]” switch to בשביל in speech or למען in formal writing.
• After כדי ש only the FUTURE tense is allowed — it’s the one place a “so that…” clause always looks forward.
• In casual speech everyone says בגלל ש for a reason-clause; the moment you write, swap it for מפני ש or כיוון ש.
• בגלל and בזכות fill the same slot with opposite feeling: בגלל = neutral or bad cause, בזכות = a cause you’re thankful for.
• Result-connectors flip the order — the cause comes first, the consequence after. לכן (often ולכן) is the neutral “therefore”; אז is the everyday “so”; לפיכך belongs to formal prose.