debido a que vs. que

Question

Didn't we learn in another lesson that we could substitute "que" for "porque"? Does that mean "debido a que" and "que" are also interchangeable via the transitive property? I feel like either I am misremembering or there are some nuances I'm not picking up on.

Answer

Hola R,
yes, "que" can introduce a causal clause, the same way "porque" or "debido a que" do. Que, though, is more colloquial. Debido a que is a lot more formal than que, but as a general rule, if we turn a sentence using debido a que into a more colloquial one, que can be a substitute; for example:

Invitaremos a toda la familia debido a que tenemos mucho espacio.
We'll invite the whole family because we have a lot of space.
Invitaremos a toda la familia, que tenemos mucho espacio.
We'll invite the whole family as we have a lot of space.

If the sentence is using an imperative, it works with que but not with debido a que:

Invitemos a todos, que tenemos mucho espacio.
Invitemos a todos debido a que tenemos mucho espacio. ???

It doesn't sound right using debido a que in this case.
Saludos
Inma