How to use Perché Poiché Perciò Purché in Italian

Perché, poiché, perciò, and purché are all conjunctions commonly used in Italian. While they may seem similar, they each have distinct meanings and uses. Here’s a breakdown of how to use each of these words:

PERCHE’

You can use Perché to ask a question and answer a question.

Es.:
Perché vai a Roma? Perché voglio visitare il Colosseo.

You can use “Perché” to combine two sentences and indicate and ask the cause, the reason for a situation.

Es.:
Maria è stanca perché ha lavorato molto. (Maria is tired because she has worked a lot.)

The phrase with perché must always be in the second position.

You can use it “perché” at the beginning of a sentence only if it is a question.

Es.:
Perché mangi il panino? Perché ho fame (Why do you eat the sandwich? Because I’m hungry)

Qualche volta puoi trovare E, oppure MA prima di “perché” (Sometimes you can find E, or MA before “perché”)

E perché…?

Ma perché … ?

to give more strength and emphasis to the question.

PERCIO’

You can use Perciò with two sentences and indicates the consequence and conclusion of a situation.

Significa per questo fatto / per questo motivo (Therefore)

Es.:
Ho preso un raffreddore, perciò sono rimasto a casa dal lavoro. (I got a cold, therefore I had to stay home from work.)

Per unire le due frasi puoi usare una virgola o la congiunzione E’ (To join the two phrases you can use a comma or conjunction E)

Es.:
Faceva freddo e perciò ho chiuso la finestra. (It was cold and therefore I closed the window)

POICHE’

Poiché it indicates a cause and / or highlights the situation.

Means “dal momento che” (since)

Poiché is used in a formal context.

Es.:
Poiché nessuno mi ascolta, non dirò più niente. (Since nobody is listening to me, I’m going to stop talking)

Poiché al contrario di perché, non può mai essere utilizzato nelle frasi interrogative dirette e indirette. (you can’t use Poiché (unlike Perché) in direct and indirect interrogative sentences.)

PURCHE’

Here we use Purché to combine two sentences.

Means: a patto che (as long as)

Es.:
Andrò al ristorante purché non venga anche Mario. (I’ll go to the restaurant until Mario doesn’t come.)

It can have two meanings:

Mangerò la torta purché sia fatta in casa. (I’ll eat the cake as long as it’s homemade.)

⚠️ After purché, the verb goes to the subjunctive

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