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Hela Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

Since VS because

Dear teachers,

What is the nuance between "since" and "because"? Why aren't they interchangeable? Would you please give me examples?

He wanted to travel to Europe because / since (?) he hoped to find a job there.

Why is "since" not acceptable in the above sentence?

Thank you for your help.

Hela
  

Top answer

Hi Hela, This is "purist" territory. Purists will tell you that since refers to time - specifically, the amount of time that has elapsed from a starting point. Since I started work today, I've received 57 e-mails .

— BarbaraPA

  • Hi Hela, This is "purist" territory.
  • Purists will tell you that since refers to time - specifically, the amount of time that has elapsed from a starting point.
  • Since I started work today, I've received 57 e-mails .
  • And they will tell you that only because (not since) shows causation.
  • " If you can insert in the phrase "the time that" after since, it's the correct choice.
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34 Answers
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Hi Hela,

This is "purist" territory. Purists will tell you that since refers to time - specifically, the amount of time that has elapsed from a starting point. Since I started work today, I've received 57 e-mails. And they will tell you that only because (not since) shows causation. So Since I started my new job today, I'm no longer looking for employment is
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Grammar Geek
Hi Hela,

Since [the time that] someone pointed out this rule to me, I try to be careful in my usage, because I want people to think I have good grammar.

In fact, in common usasge, particularly in spoken English, you will find people using "since" instead of "because" with great frequency.

Hela seems t
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Hela
Dear teachers,

What is the nuance between "since" and "because"? Why aren't they interchangeable? Would you please give me examples?

He wanted to travel to Europe because / since (?) he hoped to find a job there.

Why is "since" not acceptable in the above sentence?

Thank you for your help.

Hela

"
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I quite agree. But she was told that "since" was wrong, and I suggest that it's because the person saying so was a purist who believes that since doesn't have the "because" meaning. Do you have another suggestion as to why the person told her that "since" was wrong?
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Grammar GeekI quite agree. But she was told that "since" was wrong, and I suggest that it's because the person saying so was a purist who believes that since doesn't have the "because" meaning. Do you have another suggestion as to why the person told her that "since" was wrong?

The person who told her it was wrong does not know anything about registe
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What does "register" mean in this context?
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Grammar GeekWhat does "register" mean in this context?
A variety of language used in a specific social setting: speaking in an informal register; writing in a scientific register.
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Here are the first five examples from 9,948 appearnaces of since in the British National Corpus (BNC) academic register section:

  • A04 it is in museums that the market in art is defined, since permanent collections place limits on what is available for collectors to purchase

  • 2 A04 regret that so few of Gainsborough's letters have survived, since
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Hello everyone,

I'll change my wording to have a clear answer:

He wanted to travel to Europe because / since (?) he hoped to find a job there.

Is "since" acceptable in the above sentence? If not really, would you please tell me why?

Many thanks
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HelaHello everyone,

I'll change my wording to have a clear answer:

He wanted to travel to Europe because / since (?) he hoped to find a job there.

Is "since" acceptable in the above sentence? If not really, would you please tell me why?

Many thanks

Yes, it is. It is normally used in acad
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