Just because......doesn't mean

Question

" Just because you are young doesn't mean that you are beautiful." I've read many such sentences in books and newspapers. Can anyone please explain the syntax to me?

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

"Just because you are young doesn't mean that you are beautiful."

I've read many such sentences in books and newspapers. Can anyone please explain the syntax to me?

Here's what I would say to my class about this.

Here's the way I see this statement developing in the speaker's mind.

The speaker first thinks of the positive statement, Because you are young, you are beautiful.

He now wants to say 'That reason alone does not mean you are beautiful'.

So, he says 'Just (that reason) does not mean you are beautiful'.

ie Just (because you are young) doesn't mean you are beautiful.

Having said this, let me add that the standard form of this sentence is traditionally considered to be

" Just because you are young, it doesn't mean that you are beautiful."

The 'it' refers to the preceding reason, ie to 'because you are young'. You could say it clarifies the subject of the second part of the sentence.

In a sense, it's a preparatory 'it'. You see this more clearly if you rearrange the two parts and say "It doesn't mean that you are beautiful, just because you are young."

Best wishes, Clive

Debpriya De · Answer

@Clive,
You say that "it" is a "preparatory it" referring to the clause "just because you are young".
But isn't it true that preparatory its refer only to nominal clauses, for example "It is true that you are sick." Here "that you are sick" is a nominal clause.

Just because......doesn't mean

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