porque no tenía

because he/she didn't have

→ porque
phrase Common #8,818
because he/she didn't have Used to give a reason. Tenía is the imperfect form of tener, and its subject is usually understood from context.
SP: No fue a la fiesta porque no tenía tiempo.
EN: He didn't go to the party because he didn't have time.

Porque no tenía agua.

Because I had no water.

— La venganza de Manon (1986)

Pero está muerto porque no tenía código, porque no tenía honor.

But he is dead because he had no code, because he had no honor.

— Algunos hombres buenos (1992)

Lo hice porque no tenía nada mejor que hacer.

I did it because I had nothing better to do.

Tom abandonó el proyecto porque no tenía suficiente dinero.

Tom abandoned the project because he didn't have enough money.

No, porque no tenía argumentos.

No, because I had no arguments.

— Chicago (2002)

Me perdí porque no tenía un mapa.

I got lost because I didn’t have a map.

Me sentía un poco solo porque no tenía compañía.

I felt a little lonely because I had no company.

Porque no tenía nada que ver con los negocios.

Because it had nothing to do with business.

No me he movido porque no tenía a donde ir.

I haven't moved because I had nowhere to go.

— Dolor y gloria (2019)

Tom no pudo ir con nosotros a Boston porque no tenía suficiente dinero.

Tom couldn't go to Boston with us because he didn't have enough money.

Se sospechaba de él porque no tenía una coartada.

He was suspected because he didn't have an alibi.

Me salté el almuerzo porque no tenía suficiente tiempo para comer.

I skipped lunch because I didn’t have enough time to eat.