{"id":420,"date":"2008-11-17T12:00:21","date_gmt":"2008-11-17T18:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/because-vs-since\/"},"modified":"2011-05-31T19:38:17","modified_gmt":"2011-06-01T01:38:17","slug":"because-vs-since","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2008\/11\/because-vs-since\/","title":{"rendered":"“Because” vs. “Since”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I read one of these words today where it seemed to me that the other was more appropriate.<\/p>\n

Problem:<\/strong>
\nMost dictionaries treat these two words as synonymous conjunctions, but one is preferable over the other for expressing cause and effect.<\/p>\n

Explanation:<\/strong>
\nMany, if not all, dictionaries indicate that the second or third definition of the word “since” when used as a conjunction is “because”.<\/p>\n

An unambiguous example of using “since” as a synonym for “because” is “I kissed her since I love her.”<\/p>\n

However, it is easy to construct an ambiguous sentence with the conjunction “since”.<\/p>\n

For example, “I decided to learn French since my company moved me to Paris.” has two possible meanings:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A causal meaning — “I decided to learn French because<\/em> my company moved me to Paris.”;<\/li>\n
  2. A temporal meaning — “I decided to learn French after<\/em> my company moved me to Paris.”<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The temporal version clearly tells us when<\/em> the writer decided to learn French. The causal version tells us why<\/em> the writer decided to learn French.<\/p>\n

    A commenter at another website noted that Bryan Garner wrote in his book Garner’s Modern American Usage<\/a>\"\" that the causal meaning of “since” has existed for more than one thousand years.<\/p>\n

    I believe that the use of “since” as a substitute for the conjunction “because” is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. It is simpler to say or write the one-syllable, five-letter “since” than it is to say or write the two-syllable, seven-letter “because”, and clarity can be easily sacrificed for simplicity.<\/p>\n

    Solution:<\/strong>
    \nTo avoid confusion, prefer the conjunction “because” over the conjunction “since” when joining two sentences in a causal relationship. And prefer the conjunction “after” over the conjunction “since” when joining two sentences in a temporal relationship, unless “since” clearly carries a temporal connotation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I read one of these words today where it seemed to me that the other was more appropriate. Problem: Most dictionaries treat these two words as synonymous conjunctions, but one is preferable over the other for expressing cause and effect. 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