How to introduce "reason", "cause"
REASON/CAUSE CLAUSE
Note I: where we say “possessive”, in more informal English an objective form
(me/him/us/them) or the name without genitive (Peter’s → Peter) is used.
Note II: remember a clause is “a group of words
that includes a subject and a verb, and forms a sentence or part of a sentence”
(from Oxford Learner’s Dictionary).
Because
The baby crawled because
he couldn’t walk. = because + S + V
Since
Since he couldn’t
walk, the baby crawled. = Since + S + V (usually at the
beginning)
As
As he couldn’t
walk, the baby crawled. = As + S + V
The baby
crawled as he couldn’t walk.
For
The government
decided to call off the operation for it
was too risky. = For + S + V (formal)
(usually
at the beginning)
owing
to
We were all
embarrassed owing to his smugness. = owing to + possessive + N/ing-verb
Owing to his
smugness we were all embarrassed.
on
account of
She went back
home early on account of her illness = on account of + N (+ ing-verb)
On account of her brother
arriving late she didn’t come with us.
as
a consequence of
As a consequence
of the accident he can’t walk very well.
= as
a consequence of + N
He was not sent
abroad as a consequence of his not speaking a foreign language. =
as a
consequence of + possessive + ing-verb
as
a result of
His business
flourishes in such a way as a result of foreign investment. = as a result of + N
As a result of
his not obeying, he’s been punished. =
as a
result of + possessive + ing-verb
thanks
to
A lot of money
has been collected, thanks to the ladies’ efforts. = thanks to + N
It was possible
thanks to the ladies’ making a great effort.
= thanks
to + possessive + ing-verb
in
view of
In view of his
dedication we’ve decided to promote him.
= in
view of + N
In view of her
being so responsible an employee, she has been promoted again. =
in view of +
possessive + ing-verb
b) Exercises
Exercise 1
Recognition
Underline the reason/cause
linkers in the following paragraph. The first has been done for you. Key below.
Since it was raining I
decided not only to take an umbrella but also to take a cab. I walked to the
taxi rank but at the corner, as it
was fifty metres further, I had to cross. In
view of the street being flooded up to the kerb, I rolled my trousers and
took off my shoes and socks. On account
of these actions, I had to perform a perfect exercise of balance: imagine
me standing on one foot and holding the umbrella and the briefcase with one
hand above my head and removing the shoes and socks all at the same time. As a
consequence of my unsteady position, touching me meant my falling into the
water. And this is exactly what happened: a woman rushed by and, owing to her brushing me, I ended up
lying down in the flooded street. As a
result of this, she stopped and turned round. But, as she did so so brusquely, she slipped and finished up sitting on
the asphalt with the water up to her waist. We looked and each other, absolutely
soaked to the skin because of the
downpour, and laughed and decided to go for a coffee and then to go to my place
to get dry and thanks to that
incident we got spliced, to put it in
old-fashioned English.
Exercise 2
Rewriting
Rewrite the following sentences introducing the words given
in brackets. You have the key below, but don’t
cheat.
Example:
She took a brolly. She did not want to get wet. (because)
She
took a brolly because he did not want to get wet.
1.
He’s so moody he can’t make
friends. (owing to)
2.
All flights to the north have
been cancelled. There is a severe snowstorm. (as a result)
3.
Her birthday coincided with
a long weekend, so she decided to give a party in their country house. (since)
4.
This hospital was possible because
of his generosity. (thanks to)
5.
She was blanked because of the scandal her misconduct had created in the area. (in
view of)
6.
There was a crisis in the
sector and thousands of people lost their jobs. (as a consequence of)
7.
Because of his smugness,
nobody likes him. (on account of)
8.
He’s so affable that he is
invited to all the parties thrown in the area. (Since)
9.
He is stone deaf from birth
and so he has grown peevish. (As)
10.
It was an economic
disaster. The drought had destroyed their crops. (for)
c) Key
Exercise 1
Exercise 1
Recognition
Underline the reason/cause
linkers in the following paragraph. The first has been done for you. Key below.
Since it was raining I decided not only
to take an umbrella but also to take a cab. I walked to the taxi rank but at
the corner, as it was fifty metres
further, I had to cross. In view of
the street being flooded up to the kerb, I rolled my trousers and took off my
shoes and socks. On account of these
actions, I had to perform a perfect exercise of balance: imagine me standing on
one foot and holding the umbrella and the briefcase with one hand above my head
and removing the shoes and socks all at the same time. As a
consequence of my unsteady position, touching me meant my falling into the
water. And this is exactly what happened: a woman rushed by and, owing to her brushing me, I ended up
lying down in the flooded street. As a
result of this, she stopped and turned round. But, as she did it so brusquely, she slipped and finished up
sitting on the asphalt with the water up to her waist. We looked and each
other, absolutely soaked to the skin because
of the downpour, and laughed and decided to go for a coffee and then to go
to my place to get dry and thanks to
that incident we got spliced, to put
it in old-fashioned English.
Exercise 2
Rewriting
1.
Owing to his being so moody he can’t
make friends.
2.
All flights to the north have
been cancelled as a result of the severe
snowstorm.
3.
Since her birthday coincided with a long
weekend, she decided to give a party in their country house.
4.
This hospital was possible thanks to his generosity.
5.
In view of the scandal her behaviour had
created in the area, she was blanked.
6.
Thousands of people lost
their jobs as a consequence of the
crisis in the sector.
7.
On account of his smugness, nobody likes
him.
8.
Since he’s so affable he is invited to
all the parties thrown in the area.
9.
As he is stone deaf from birth he has
grown peevish.
10. It was an economic disaster, for
the drought had destroyed their crops.
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