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Subject:RE: Use of "since" or "because" From:"McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> To:Char James-Tanny <charjtf -at- gmail -dot- com>, Lois Patterson <loisrpatterson -at- gmail -dot- com> Date:Wed, 7 May 2014 16:57:23 -0400
My guess would be that it's [d]evolved as a sort of contraction from a wordier statement that tied time to cause and effect.
"Because he no longer enjoys it, we won't be going there anymore"
"Since we recognized, last year, that he was no longer enjoying it, we won't be going there anymore."
"Since he no longer enjoys it, we won't be going there anymore."
But, I've been wildly mistaken before.
"Because, for all the time we've known you, you've been such a...."
"Since you're such a ...."
Hmm.
I like the separation you describe, but I don't know how religiously I've practiced it. I foresee a string search for "since" in my near future.
Cheers.
-----Original Message-----
From: Char James-Tanny
Sent: May-07-14 4:26 PM
To: Lois Patterson
Cc: techwr-l
Subject: Re: Use of "since" or "because"
"since" is related to time. "It's been years since I've seen her!"
"because" is cause and effect. "This happened because of that thing over there."
People tend to use "since" in place of "because" (but not the other way around), and I believe it's allowed if you check grammar books / websites.
However, it's better to use "since" only for issues related to time because it's (technically) correct. (And switching them can cause issues for people who speak English as a second language or those with cognitive issues.)
Char James-Tanny ~ JTF Associates, Inc. ~ http://www.jtfassociates.com
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On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 3:32 PM, Lois Patterson <loisrpatterson -at- gmail -dot- com>wrote:
> I tend much more to the use of "because", particularly for cause and
> effect actions, but I am seeing "since" in a writing sample. Why do
> you use one instead of the other?
>
> Lois Patterson
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