Many people have various difficulties with the use of the Russian language in speech and writing. The question of how to spell "because" is one of the most common quandaries.
This union is very common in speech, and perhaps that is why they make especially many mistakes in it. They can turn out to be both spelling and punctuation (where exactly a comma is needed here can be difficult to decide). Let's figure out how to write "because" correctly, and clarify where to put commas.
When the union is applied: main cases
How to spell "because", and how this combination is applied, the question is rather complicated. Let's start by defining the part of speech.
Before us is a complex (or compound) union. He usually connects two sentences into one, and thanks to him we can understand the reason for what is happening. As a rule, it occurs in complex sentences. These syntactic constructions consist of several parts - the main and one or more subordinate ones.
Spelling "because"
The named union consists of two words that contain 5consonants (n, t, m, h, t) and 4 vowels (o, o, y, o). The first word consists of three syllables, where the stress falls on the last of them, the second - from one. In the first word, the letter "o" is written in both unstressed syllables.
How do you spell "because" - together or separately?
Now we will figure out how to write “because”: together, separately, or maybe with a hyphen?
Words that make up this union are always written separately. There can be no continuous spelling, since these are two different words. A common mistake is when they are written with a hyphen. Obviously, this is caused, first of all, by the similarity of the word “what” with the particle “-that”, which is written with a hyphen (an example here is the word “because”).
To avoid this mistake, compare the two sentences in the example above. Please note that the indicated words in them have slightly different meanings:
- Last year I got bronchitis. That's why I quit smoking.
- I quit smoking last year because I got bronchitis.
When is “by that” written separately?
For many, “because” and “because” are similar words, although in meaning this is far from the case. They have completely different meanings. In the first case, the sentence mentions those specific objects or characteristics that are emphasized. For example:
I immediately concluded that the girl is not rich. It was noticeable by what she was wearing
In this case, those things (clothes) thatworn by a girl. That is, by clothes, the observer can tell how well-off a girl is. There is no reason here, but objects are mentioned.
Another example:
A person's preferences can be inferred from what they buy
This sentence can be rephrased as follows - by the things that a person buys, one can conclude about his preferences.
In the second case (when "because" is spelled together), the cause of some event is revealed. That is, you can ask the question "why?" and immediately answer it. In this case, the union can be successfully replaced with synonyms “due to”, “because”, “because”, “after all” and others. For example:
I left work early because I felt sick
In this case, the phrase will look quite organic if the union “because” is replaced with another one: I left work because I felt bad.
Another example:
I don't have any money because I spent it
This phrase does not change its meaning when the union is replaced by the word "because": I have no money because I spent it.
Punctuation
The most difficult issue is the use of punctuation in sentences with this conjunction. Usually a comma is placed before it. For example:
I don't know where he went because he didn't tell me about it
Here you can ask the question: "Because of what I do not know where he went?". And answer him: “Because he didn’t tell me.” That is, we have two sentences that are combined into onesubordinating union.
- We got very wet because we got caught in the rain (What caused us to get wet? It was the rain).
- I don't have a phone because it was stolen (Why don't I have a phone? Because it was stolen).
There are cases when a comma is placed before the second word of the conjunction and not before "because":
- With a particle of amplifying meaning (e.g. "only"): I only liked him because he treated me with great affection.
- With an introductory word like "maybe", "should be", "probably": They didn't show up, probably because they were very busy. We never met, probably because he left before me.
- With a negative particle "not" before the union: I'm not late because I'm stuck in traffic.
Result
The Russian language is quite complicated in terms of spelling and punctuation, but this does not justify, for example, paperwork with errors.
So, every self-respecting person should strive to speak and write correctly. This article hopefully helps you. For convenience, we will list again how to spell "because" correctly:
- The named union is always written separately.
- Comma can be placed both before and inside it.
- The words "because" and "because of that" have different meanings and are spelled differently.
