Expressing cause: because, since, as, because of, owing to

🔊 La maîtresse lit pour toi

Why do so many people lose their energy balance, and why is obesity spreading? The text answers with cause after cause: « it is because of the many advertisements », « Owing to this loss, a lot of people today suffer from obesity », « Since obesity is caused mostly by a loss of energy balance, … ». How do you introduce a cause — and why do some cause words take a whole clause, and others only a noun?

🎓في نهاية هذا الدرس ستكون قادرا على:

التعبير عن السبب بأدوات تتبعها جملة ⁦because · since · as · for⁩
التعبير عن السبب بأدوات يتبعها مركّب اسميّ ⁦because of · owing to · due to⁩
تحويل الجملة من أداة إلى أخرى دون تغيير المعنى ⁦(because → owing to)⁩
وضع الفاصلة حين تبدأ الجملة بالسبب

🔑يفترض هذا الدرس أنّك تتقن:

الجملة الرئيسيّة والجملة التابعة ⁦(main clause · subordinate clause)⁩
المركّب الاسميّ ⁦(noun phrase)⁩
المضارع البسيط ⁦(present simple)⁩

1. Two kinds of cause words

أدوات السبب نوعان : ⁦because · since · as · for⁩ تتبعها جملة فيها فاعل وفعل، و ⁦because of · owing to · due to⁩ يتبعها مركّب اسميّ.

Because, as, since, for, due to, owing to and because of signal a cause or a reason: « She has to stay in bed as she is ill. » They do not all work in the same way: • because, since, as and for are followed by a clause — a subject and a verb: « … as she is ill »; • because of, owing to and due to are prepositions: they are followed by a noun phrase — « Owing to this loss, … » · « … because of the many advertisements ». Due to often comes after the verb be: « a loss of energy balance, which is due mainly to the impact of junk food adverts ».

How is Your Energy Balance? — extracts

A recent study shows that a large number of people who cannot manage to keep their energy balance are those who spend too much time in front of their TV sets. If people eat too many products which contain a large amount of fat and sugar — also called junk food — and too few products which provide them with enough quantities of fibre, it is because of the many advertisements to which they are exposed while watching TV. […] Unfortunately, the loss of energy balance is not without health and social consequences. Owing to this loss, a lot of people today suffer from obesity. According to the World Health Organisation, for the first time in history, the world population counts more obese people than slim ones. As a result of overweight, many of them have developed diseases that cost the social security systems of their countries billions and billions of dollars every year. The financial problem of these security systems is likely to worsen as no concrete measures are taken to treat the real causes of overweight at world level. Since obesity in our modern times is caused mostly by a loss of energy balance, which is due mainly to the impact of junk food adverts, it is high time our governments passed laws to limit this influence. Advertisements of unhealthy foods are as harmful as advertisements for cigarettes. Therefore, they should be banned from the media, and health warnings should be added on the labels of fast food packages.

Task 1 — Pick out all the sentences of the text which contain the link words because (of), as, since, owing to and due to.

استخرج من النصّ كلّ الجمل التي فيها أدوات السبب.

« … it is because of the many advertisements to which they are exposed while watching TV. »
« Owing to this loss, a lot of people today suffer from obesity. »
« The financial problem of these security systems is likely to worsen as no concrete measures are taken to treat the real causes of overweight at world level. »
« Since obesity in our modern times is caused mostly by a loss of energy balance, which is due mainly to the impact of junk food adverts, it is high time our governments passed laws to limit this influence. »

A trap: « As a result of overweight » is not the cause word as. As a result of + a noun phrase means because of: overweight is the cause, and the main clause gives its result. Read the whole expression before you decide.

Task 2 — A. What type of relationship do these link words indicate? B. What punctuation marks go with some of them?

ما نوع العلاقة التي تدلّ عليها هذه الأدوات؟ وما علامة الوقف التي ترافق بعضها؟

A. A relationship of cause and effect: the link word introduces the cause — the advertisements, the loss of energy balance, the lack of measures — and the rest of the sentence gives the effect.
B. When the cause comes first, a comma separates it from the main clause: « Owing to this loss, a lot of people … » · « Since obesity … is caused mostly by a loss of energy balance …, it is high time … ». In the middle of the sentence, no comma: « … is likely to worsen as no concrete measures are taken ».

Cause words — what comes after them

Link word	Followed by	Example
because · since · as · for	a clause: subject + verb	She has to stay in bed as she is ill.
because of · owing to · due to	a noun phrase	Owing to this loss, a lot of people today suffer from obesity.
be due to · result from	a noun phrase, after the verb	Our problems result from our negligence.

A clause has its own subject and verb; a noun phrase has none.

2. Choose the right cause word

اختر الأداة المناسبة : انظر ما بعد الفراغ، أجملة هو أم مركّب اسميّ؟

Task 3 — Fill in the blanks with because (of), as, since, owing to or due to. There are several possibilities.

A. Advertising is necessary for new businesses …… it informs consumers about the services and products they offer. B. …… the advertisement of fast foods, many people have developed unhealthy eating and drinking habits. C. …… consumers are aware of the importance of the environment, most food industries now put eco-labels on the packages of their products.

Task 3 — the answers, and why

الإجابات : بعد الفراغ جملة أم مركّب اسميّ؟

A. because, as or since — a clause follows: it informs consumers …
B. Owing to, Because of or Due to — a noun phrase follows: the advertisement of fast foods. The cause comes first, so a comma follows it.
C. As, Since or Because — a clause follows: consumers are aware … The cause comes first, with its comma.

Task 4 — Rewrite each sentence with the link word in brackets, without changing its meaning. A. Many people suffer from obesity because they have lost their energy balance. (owing to) · B. Owing to the many advertisements on TV, children eat too much junk food. (because) · C. As fast food contains too much fat, people put on weight. (because of)

أعد كتابة الجمل بالأداة المعطاة : جملة ← مركّب اسميّ، أو العكس.

A. Many people suffer from obesity owing to the loss of their energy balance. — the clause becomes a noun phrase.
B. Children eat too much junk food because they watch too many advertisements on TV. — the noun phrase becomes a clause, with a subject and a verb.
C. Because of the fat in fast food, people put on weight. — the clause becomes a noun phrase.

The meaning does not change; only the grammar does. A preposition needs a noun phrase, a conjunction needs a clause.

3. Causes and effects of unsafe food

أسباب ونتائج : اربط كلّ نتيجة بسببها في جملة واحدة، بأداة سبب مختلفة كلّ مرّة.

Reasons and results

Reasons, causes	Results, effects
industries polluting the soil with chemicals · too much toxic waste thrown into rivers · too many oil spills · farmers using too many insecticide sprays	poisoning of water sources · too little water to drink · fruits and vegetables containing insecticide and chemical residues · destruction of aquatic life
too many additives (preservatives, flavourings, colourings) · using too much salt or sugar to sweeten the food	children becoming hyperactive · lacking concentration at school · people developing allergies · suffering from food poisoning
too few people preparing their own meals · too many people eating in fast food restaurants · fast food containing too much fat	putting on weight · developing diseases

Cause words: because · owing to · for · since · as · due to.

Task 5 — Join five results to their causes, one sentence each, with a different cause word every time.

خمس جمل نموذجيّة : النتيجة وسببها بأداة مختلفة.

Many water sources are poisoned because industries throw too much toxic waste into rivers.
Owing to too many insecticide sprays, fruits and vegetables contain chemical residues.
Some children become hyperactive as their food contains too many additives.
Since too many people eat in fast food restaurants, more and more people put on weight.
People develop diseases because of the fat in fast food.

Do this alone, in writing. Write five sentences about food safety, each with a different cause word: because, since, as, owing to, because of or due to. Put the cause first in two of them — with a comma. Then check each one: a clause after because, since and as; a noun phrase after owing to, because of and due to.

اكتب وحدك خمس جمل عن سلامة الغذاء بأدوات سبب مختلفة، وابدأ اثنتين منها بالسبب مع الفاصلة.

A model answer

Many consumers read labels because they want to know about additives. Since junk food contains too much sugar, dentists advise children to avoid it. The shop withdrew the yoghurts as their expiry date had passed. Owing to food poisoning, several pupils were absent from school. The fish of the river died because of an oil spill.

In the exam, cause is tested in the text exploration: you join two sentences with the link word given, or you rewrite a sentence so that it means the same — « because they have lost their energy balance » becomes « owing to the loss of their energy balance ». Have three things ready: ① because, since, as, for + a clause; ② because of, owing to, due to + a noun phrase; ③ the comma when the cause comes first. The frequent mistake: a clause after a preposition — ✗ « because of they eat junk food » → ✓ « because they eat junk food » or « because of junk food ».

What I keep — To introduce a cause, I use because, since, as or for before a clause (« as she is ill »), and because of, owing to or due to before a noun phrase (« Owing to this loss, … »). When the cause comes first, a comma separates it from the main clause. To rewrite a sentence, I change the grammar — clause or noun phrase — not the meaning.

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