HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Aug. 21, 2005 In their definition of the word ‘because’, the editors of American Heritage Dictionary make several errors which I would like to point out. Here is part of their usage note, in which I have substituted apostrophes for italics, for e-mail’s sake: “A traditional rule holds that the construction ‘the reason is because’ is redundant, and should be avoided in favor of ‘the reason is that’. The usage is well established, however, and can be justified by analogy to constructions such as…’The last time I saw her was when she was leaving for college’.” This analogy is false. The clause ‘when she was leaving for college’ may be either an adverb or a noun. Compare: ADVERB: I didn’t know, when she was leaving for college, if I’d ever see her again. NOUN: I didn’t know when she was leaving for college. However, we have no such neat dichotomy with ‘because’, which may introduce only an adverbial clause. ADVERB: I said, because she was leaving for college, that I’d write to her often. NOUN: I said why (not ‘because’) she was leaving for college. Therefore, in the construction ‘the time was when…’, we have ‘noun = noun’, which is perfectly legitimate, as in ‘Mary is Queen’. But in the construction ‘the reason is because…’, we have ‘noun = adverb’, which is preposterous, as in ‘Mary is undoubtedly’. Further below, the editors make this statement, which is true: “A favorite rule of schoolteachers…is that a sentence must not begin with ‘because’. Sometimes, however, because is perfectly appropriate as the opening word of a sentence, as in the beginning of one of Emily Dickinson's best-known poems: ‘Because I could not stop for Death—He kindly stopped for me.’ In fact, sentences beginning with ‘because’ are quite common in written English.” An adverbial clause beginning with ‘if’, ‘whereas’, ‘although’, ‘since’, ‘because’, ‘when’ or any of a few other conjuctions may generally be moved to the front of the sentence. Compare: EXAMPLE: I carried my umbrella because it was raining. Because it was raining, I carried my umbrella. EXAMPLE: I carried my umbrella although it was sunny. Although it was sunny, I carried my umbrella. EXAMPLE; I carry my umbrella if I think it will rain. If I think it will rain, I carry my umbrella. In each of these cases the clause, whether it follows or precedes, is an adverb, so the construction amounts to no more than moving a single-word adverb: EXAMPLE: She has found her umbrella fortunately. Fortunately, she has found her umbrella. Then the editors of American Heritage Dictionary make this absurd statement: “Another rule states that one should not use a clause beginning with ‘because’ as the subject of a sentence, as in ‘Just because he thinks it a good idea doesn't mean it's a good idea’. This construction is perfectly acceptable, but it carries a colloquial flavor and may best be reserved for informal situations.” The editors are wrong. The clause ‘just because he thinks it is a good idea…’ is an adverb, and to use it as a noun is not perfectly acceptable: EXAMPLE: John has agreed to testify just because he thinks it is a good idea. The clause may be brought to the front of the sentence but it remains adverbial: EXAMPLE: Just because he thinks it is a good idea, John has agreed to testify. We might compare these sentences with a sentences involving the displacement of a single-word adverb. EXAMPLE: John has agreed justifiably to testify. Justifiably, John has agreed to testify. So the following sentence is illogical and ungrammatical: EXAMPLE: Just because he thinks it is a good idea doesn’t mean that it is right. The above sentence is tantamount to saying this: EXAMPLE: Justifiably doesn’t make it right. Years ago it was regularly taught that the sequence ‘just because…doesn’t mean’ is wrong, as indeed it is. However, in recent years, there has been a tendency to normalize colloquial constructions, and I see no problem with that, providing only that they are not ungrammatical. But American Heritage Dictionary neglects even to note that the _expression has a justifiable history of being considered incorrect. What we should say is this: EXAMPLE: The mere fact that he thinks it is a good idea doesn’t mean that it is right. The mere fact that a great many people make a mistake doesn’t mean that the mistake may now be considered right. The upshot of this little article of mine is that it makes sense to take a critical attitude towards even the pronouncements of illustrious dictionaries. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
