No se tenía porqué poner zapatos.

There was no need to wear shoes.

Caption 30, Federico Kauffman Doig - Arqueólogo

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In this space, just two weeks ago, we discussed que ("that") and ¿qué? ("what?"), porque ("because") and ¿por qué? ("why?"). In these instances, the accent over the é turned a conjunction into an interrogation.

This week, the affable archaeologist Federico Kauffman Doig reminds us of another porqué, which is a noun that means the reason, cause or motive for something. Because it's a noun, porqué has a gender – masculine – and is often preceded by a definite (el, los) or indefinite article (un, unos).

Related:

Nadie sabe [el] porqué de su abandono.

Nobody knows the reason for its abandonment.

Caption 39, Querido México - Teotihuacán

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Escuchar esta música en la voz de Alejandro nos hace recordar el porqué hacemos esto.

Listening to this music in Alejandro's voice makes us remember why (the reason) we do this.

Captions 12-13, Documental de Alejandro Fernandez - Viento A Favor

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Los porqués son...
The reasons are...
 
Un porqué de...
A reason for....

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So, take this hint if you want to ace a Spanish spelling bee (un concurso de deletreo): If porqué is used as a noun, it's always one word and has an accent over its é.