correct english

sebastianlieken

had no idea where to post this question but it seemed appropriate to post it here for you english speacking buffs.

Im writing a group report in college and one of my collegues said you cant begin a sentance with "because". now i know that we all learned in primary school that you cant answer a question beginning with "because", but to begin a conditional sentance, surly that is correct grammer? example: Because of the fact that the bridge is too long, i ran across it.

yey or ney????

microgirl

Nay.

At least by the rules I was taught in school. Yeah sure, we all do it, it's colloquial English, but that doesn't mean that it's correct.

(In fact, I'd've thought it'd be far more acceptable to start an answer with "because", because that's the question you were asked. I don't actually know the strict truth on this aspect though.)

microgirl

Heh, a quick Google shows I may be wrong, however (or my teacher of old may have been) - or at least that many disagree.

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=269356

jdivision

Not being sarcastic but you might note it's "I'm" not "Im" which is the Irish for butter.
I too was told you could never begin a sentence with Because or with And for that matter. While the rule on beginning with And seems to have relaxed slightly, I've never seen sentences begin with Because and therefore would suggest you don't either.

In the sentence you suggested I'd use:
The bridge was too long so I ran across it

Piste

No I think it's allowed.


And (oho see what I did there?) if it's not it's one of those "don't end on a preposition" type rules that no-one observes.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

There's loads of mistakes in that OP, but we''l put tat down to rushed typing.

My guess would be:
As the bridge was too long,I ran across it.

Or

I ran across the bridge, because it was too long.

sebastianlieken

Okay, I realise all these spellings i'm putting in are totally wrong. INCLUDING THIS POST!!! But yes I am rushing because there are two annoying gits looking over my shoulder at the moment and they are pointing out all the grammatical errors is this post too. (In the OP, there were 15 by the way!)

Anywho, thanks for the replies. much appreciated.

But I remain adament, you cant begin a sentance with "Because"

Mars Bar

Another one that gets me is "there was" and "there were"...

sebastianlieken

You're all lame.

And i never said; "there was"...so

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

OP - like I said rushed typing (my post wasn't much better) but there's some horrendous grammaticals!

Now, the beacuse bit. My take on it is that "because" begins a clause of a sentence but not a sentence itself. Your sentence should introduce the subject first and then say make the point. You can use "because" to link to the second clause, but you can't open with it. Something like that anyway.

Mars Bar - There was; there were. Depends on the quantiy.

There WAS one...
There WERE two (or more)...

Overheal

sebastianlieken wrote: »

had no idea where to post this question but it seemed appropriate to post it here for you english speacking buffs.

Im writing a group report in college and one of my collegues said you cant begin a sentance with "because". now i know that we all learned in primary school that you cant answer a question beginning with "because", but to begin a conditional sentance, surly that is correct grammer? example: Because of the fact that the bridge is too long, i ran across it.

yey or ney????

I'd listen to your colleague, as you cant even spell sentence; or colleague; surely; yay; nay; speaking; begining; or grammar and speaking of apostrophes and grammatical errors...

What course did you say you were in? Must be a fierce low points requirement on that. No excuse for rushed typing will cover that many mistakes im afraid

I'm sorry - but you've lost all leverage in your defence of the Because Agrument

randylonghorn

"Because" is a co-ordinating conjunction, and strictly speaking you are not breaking any rule of English grammar by using it to start a sentence.

Because he gets car-sick, John hates travelling by car.

... is a correct sentence.

Note that a main clause follows the co-ordinating conjunction.

Teachers generally discourage this usage in the earlier stages of schooling because it is seldom used correctly. (or Because it is seldom used correctly, teachers generally discourage this usage in the earlier stages of schooling. )

Until they have built up a good grasp of English, students are inclined to simply split the sentence, e.g. ...

John hates travelling by car. Because he gets car-sick. This is obviously incorrect!

You should avoid over-using this sentence structure in any case, as it can get very tedious and stilted.

In the same way, and can actually be used to start a sentence, but it is generally discouraged even more strongly.

sebastianlieken

Overheal wrote: »

What course did you say you were in? Must be a fierce low points requirement on that. No excuse for rushed typing will cover that many mistakes im afraid

I'm sorry - but you've lost all leverage in your defence of the Because Agrument

Not that it's any of your business, but I’m doing a degree in Aeronautical Engineering in the University of Limerick. This course by the way does not necessitate the need for impeccable english. Also, (and again none of your business), but my “points” were actually in the region above 550. So guess what! I actually got an A2 in English. :eek:

Also, it’s “I’m” and it's spelt “argument”.

@ randylonghorn, thank you

Overheal

rushed typing insures everyone for a few mistakes but your OP was dreadful I'll put it down to not being too familiar with a keyboard for you but oh snap, I cant, I read your sig

UL? Pfft. I should known

Messing aside, kudos on Randy for the answer.

straight_As

Overheal wrote: »

I'd listen to your colleague, as you cant even spell sentence; or colleague; surely; yay; nay; speaking; begining; or grammar and speaking of apostrophes and grammatical errors...

What course did you say you were in? Must be a fierce low points requirement on that. No excuse for rushed typing will cover that many mistakes im afraid

I'm sorry - but you've lost all leverage in your defence of the Because Agrument

beginning?

randylonghorn

Overheal wrote: »

Messing aside, kudos on Randy for the answer.

As if I would trust an American on the rules of English grammar!

Overheal

randylonghorn wrote: »

As if I would trust an American on the rules of English grammar!

go choke on aluminum

*yeah I noob'd myself on beginning there. Ive had trouble with that one since as long as I can remember.