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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

the reason is because

People say all the time "the reason is because," which bothers me as a non-native speaker because it looks so ungrammatical and yet even linguists use it in college textbooks for linguists. What is the deal with "the reason is because"? Why not "the reason is that"? I could say "I don't eat meat because it is bad for me." If, instead, I say " I don't eat meat." and then I want to give a reason, I say (or people say): "The reason is because it is bad for me." It seems like I'm using "the reason is" instead of repeating "I don't eat meat" and then adding "because" as if I were actually saying "I don't eat meat." But why?
  

Top answer

Hi, Just seems to me like imprecise grammar. Some people don't care about such matters, as long as their meaning is easily understood. They should, of course, all be shipped to Mars.

  • Hi, Just seems to me like imprecise grammar.
  • Some people don't care about such matters, as long as their meaning is easily understood.
  • They should, of course, all be shipped to Mars.
  • Clive
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3 Answers
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Hi,

Just seems to me like imprecise grammar. Some people don't care about such matters, as long as their meaning is easily understood.

They should, of course, all be shipped to Mars.

Clive
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I agree with Clive. Cf. "The reason being is X"; and "The reason is, is that X".

(The reason being is, is that the reason is because.)

MrP
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Hello guys! I'm with you as I am a language-nerd just like you! We have the same problem here in Russia with immigrants that can't speak Russian properly.

Check this out -



The reason why I'm killing you, damned Russian immigrant Andrey, is because you keep saying this "reason because" bullshit.

And "sorri uss for misspelling and illiteracy"

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