Cause and effect connectors : « because », « as », « since » / « so », « therefore », « as a result »

🔊 The teacher reads for you

Two sentences, both true, standing side by side: “Most children suffer from test anxiety when they take exams.” “They perform below their abilities.” Nothing joins them, and yet you already feel there is a link. Now slip three words between the two: “Most children suffer from test anxiety when they take exams. As a result, they perform below their abilities.” Not one fact has changed — but the reader now knows which one produced the other. English marks that link in two opposite ways, and they do not sit in the same place in the sentence. Which two, and where?

🎓في نهاية هذا الدرس ستكون قادرا على:

التمييز بين رابط السبب (⁦because · as · since⁩) ورابط النتيجة (⁦so · therefore · as a result⁩)
تحديد موقع كلّ رابط من الجملة، والعلامة التي تصحبه
التعبير عن العلاقة نفسها مرّتين : مرّة بالسبب ومرّة بالنتيجة
التمييز بين ⁦because + جملة⁩ و⁦because of + اسم⁩
تعليل رأي في فقرة قصيرة بحيث يرى القارئ السبب والنتيجة معا

🔑يفترض هذا الدرس أنّك تتقن:

الجملة البسيطة : فاعل + فعل + تتمّة
ربط جملتين بـ⁦and · but⁩ وموقع الفاصلة بينهما
الفرق بين الحدث السابق والحدث اللاحق في الزمن

Presentation

لاحظ الحوار أوّلا. في ردّ واحد من سعيدة رابطان : واحد للسبب وواحد للنتيجة. ابحث عنهما قبل أن تقرأ القاعدة.

Saida and Farida, in front of the garbage can

Saida: Why do you throw your newspapers and old copybooks in the garbage can, Farida? Farida: Why not, Saida? Saida: Because if we recycle them, we won't need much wood for paper; and therefore we'll save trees. Farida: That's a good idea. But where shall I leave them? Saida: Let me think. We have a local branch of the Young Friends of the Earth Society in our town, haven't we? Farida: That's right. Saida: Then I'm sure that if we go and ask them, they'll tell us where to leave them. Farida: O.K. I promise. I'll go and ask them as soon as I'm free.

What does the dialogue tell you before you read any rule?

ماذا يعلّمك الحوار قبل أن تقرأ القاعدة ؟

Farida asks “Why not?”, and Saida begins her answer with “Because”. That is the first thing to keep: because answers the question “why?” — always.
In the same reply there is a second link, therefore — and it does not answer “why?”. It answers “and then what?”.
Look at what stands behind each of them. Behind because comes the cause (we recycle them). Behind therefore comes the result (we'll save trees).
Saida could have said the same thing from the other end: “We recycle our newspapers, so we save trees.” Same two facts, same link — only the starting point has changed.

⟹ There is only one relation here, and English gives you two doors into it. You start either from the cause, or from the effect. The rest of the lesson is about which words open which door, and where they stand.

One relation, two families of connectors. ① The cause — the fact that came first, the reason. It answers “Why?” and it is introduced by: because · as · since “Robots cannot be man's rivals because they have only artificial intelligence.” ② The effect — the fact that came after, the consequence. It answers “And then?” and it is introduced by: so · therefore · as a result “Robots have only artificial intelligence, so they cannot be man's rivals.” ⭐ The two sentences above say exactly the same thing. Choosing between them is not grammar, it is what you want to put first.

The six connectors: what follows, and where it stands

Connector	What follows it, and where	Example
because — cause	the cause; in the middle of the sentence, or at the front with a comma after the whole cause	We will live longer in the future because our living conditions are getting better.
as · since — cause	the cause; usually at the front, when the reason is already known to the reader	Since they have only artificial intelligence, robots cannot be man's rivals.
so — effect	the effect; always inside the sentence, with a comma before it	They have only artificial intelligence, so it is impossible for them to be man's rivals.
therefore · as a result — effect	the effect; usually at the front of a new sentence, with a comma after it	Most children suffer from test anxiety. As a result, they perform below their abilities.

Because, as and since introduce the CAUSE. So, therefore and as a result introduce the EFFECT. The comma is not a decoration: it goes BEFORE so, and AFTER therefore.

Your inventory, sorted by the question each one answers

answers “**Why?**” — because · as · since · because of + nounanswers “**And then?**” — so · therefore · as a result · consequentlythe nouns and verbs of the same idea — the cause of · to cause · the result of · to lead to

Turn the sentence around

اقلب الجملة : العلاقة نفسها، لكن بالبداية المعاكسة.

Same facts, other door

Each sentence below states a cause and an effect. Say it again, starting from the other end, and using the connector asked for. a. Most children suffer from test anxiety. As a result, they perform below their abilities. ⟹ start with Because b. Hyperion can work twenty-four hours a day because it runs with solar energy. ⟹ start with the cause, and use so c. Robots have only artificial intelligence, so it is impossible for them to be man's rivals. ⟹ start with the cause, and use Since

The answers, and the rule behind them

الأجوبة، والقاعدة التي وراءها.

a. Because they suffer from test anxiety, most children perform below their abilities. b. Hyperion runs with solar energy, so it can work twenty-four hours a day. c. Since robots have only artificial intelligence, it is impossible for them to be man's rivals. In all three, the two facts stayed where they were in the world; only the sentence turned round.

The order of the sentence is free; the order of the facts is not. Whatever connector you choose, the cause happened first. Put the cause behind because, as or since; put the effect behind so, therefore or as a result. Get that backwards and you have not made a grammar mistake — you have said something false.

The same pair of facts, written four ways

We recycle our paper, **so** we save trees.**Because** we recycle our paper, we save trees.We save trees **because** we recycle our paper.We recycle our paper. **As a result,** we save trees.

Four sentences, one fact. ⭐ Use that: in a paragraph, never write the same connector twice in a row. If the last sentence used because, this one uses so or as a result — and your reader will not notice the repetition, which is exactly the point.

⛔ Three mistakes to bury now. — not “Because it was raining, so we stayed at home.” One relation takes one connector. Choose: “Because it was raining, we stayed at home”, or “It was raining, so we stayed at home”. — not “because of it was raining”. Because is followed by a sentence (subject + verb); because of is followed by a noun: “because of the rain”, “because of his anxiety”. — not “They were tired therefore they stopped.” Therefore and as a result usually open a new sentence and take a comma after them: “They were tired. Therefore, they stopped.”

⛔ ثلاثة أخطاء : لا تجمع ⁦because⁩ و⁦so⁩ في الجملة نفسها · ⁦because of⁩ يتبعها اسم لا جملة · الفاصلة قبل ⁦so⁩ وبعد ⁦therefore⁩.

Practice

تمارين. أنجزها على كرّاسك أوّلا، ثمّ افتح التصحيح.

Exercise 1 — Fill in with: because, since, so, therefore, as a result

a. Robots can hear, speak and even smell. … , they are able to do many difficult and dangerous jobs. b. The guide was dissatisfied … one of the tourists kept arriving late. c. … our living conditions are getting better every day, we will live longer in the future. d. Farida threw her old copybooks in the garbage can, … Saida explained recycling to her. e. Many pupils revise for exams alone. … , this method may be the cause of the failure of many of them.

Answers to Exercise 1

	Answer	Why
a	As a result, they are able to do many difficult and dangerous jobs.	front of a new sentence, comma after ⟹ as a result / therefore
b	The guide was dissatisfied because one of the tourists kept arriving late.	the cause comes second in the sentence ⟹ because
c	Since our living conditions are getting better, we will live longer.	the cause opens the sentence and is already known ⟹ Since (or As)
d	Farida threw her old copybooks in the garbage can, so Saida explained recycling to her.	the effect, inside the sentence, comma before ⟹ so
e	Therefore, this method may be the cause of the failure of many of them.	new sentence + comma ⟹ therefore (as a result also works)

Exercise 2 — Write three sentences for a report on NASA's robots

Here are the facts, in note form. Write one full sentence for each pair, using the connector in brackets — and do not change the order of the facts in the world. a. The robots speak English / they can communicate with NASA specialists. (because) b. Hyperion runs with solar energy / it can work twenty-four hours a day. (so) c. There is continuous sunlight in the polar regions of Mars / NASA will send Hyperion there. (As a result)

Answers to Exercise 2

The robots can communicate with NASA specialists because they speak English.
Hyperion runs with solar energy, so it can work twenty-four hours a day.
There is continuous sunlight in the polar regions of Mars. As a result, NASA will send Hyperion there.

⚠️ Look at sentence a again. The notes gave the facts in the order “speak English → communicate”, and the answer says them in the order “communicate → speak English”. That is allowed, and it is the whole reason because exists: it lets you put the result first and still name the cause. So cannot do that — it only ever moves forwards.

At the BEM, cause and effect are tested in two places. In Mastery of language, as a join — “link the two sentences with: because, so, therefore”, or “complete with the right connector”. In Written expression, they are what turns an opinion into an argument, and the subject asks for one almost every year (pollution, recycling, school, the internet). Keep three things ready: because / as / since introduce the cause ; so / therefore / as a result introduce the effect ; and never both connectors for the same pair of facts. ⛔ The mistake that costs marks every year: “Because the weather was bad, so the trip was cancelled.”

Two facts side by side say nothing. A connector is what tells your reader which one produced the other — and English gives you the choice of the door: enter by the cause with because, as, since, or by the effect with “so, therefore, as a result”. The sentence may start at either end; the facts may not. And one relation takes one connector, never two.

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