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Princehal

#335645 Sun, 04 Mar 07 06:47 PM

Is this good sentence structure?: "The first reason that I think we should have longer lunch periods is because we need time to socialize with our friends." It seems like the "because" is awkward.

Princehal

Joined on Sun, Mar 4 2007

New Member (03)

Sentence structures

Lil' Ruby Rose

#335650 Sun, 04 Mar 07 07:05 PM

The because is fine. You might cut down some of the wordiness by saying, "Firstly, we should have..."

Welcome, by the way.

Lil' Ruby Rose

Joined on Wed, Dec 20 2006

West of England

Regular Member (850)

Enlightenment is always preceded by confusion.

Yoong Liat

#335653 Sun, 04 Mar 07 07:32 PM

Princehal wrote:
Is this good sentence structure?: "The first reason that I think we should have longer lunch periods is because we need time to socialize with our friends." It seems like the "because" is awkward.

The first reason that I think we should have longer lunch periods is ~~because~~ that we need time to socialize with our friends.

You're right; 'because' should be replaced by 'that'.

Yoong Liat

Joined on Mon, Sep 4 2006

Singapore

Veteran Member (6,006)

Yoong Liat

Sentence structures

Fiona B

#335661 Sun, 04 Mar 07 07:52 PM

Hi everybody,
"because" and "that" are both fine, as is nothing: "The first reason that I think we should have longer lunch periods is we need time to..." It's all about your personal preference!

Have fun!

Fiona B

Joined on Sun, Mar 4 2007

New Member (06)

Yoong Liat

#335666 Sun, 04 Mar 07 08:02 PM

Fiona B wrote:
Hi everybody,
"because" and "that" are both fine, as is nothing: "The first reason that I think we should have longer lunch periods is we need time to..." It's all about your personal preference!

Have fun!

According to books on English usage, "The reason ... is because ..." is incorrect. "The reason ... is that ... " is correct.

Yoong Liat

Princehal

#335672 Sun, 04 Mar 07 08:10 PM

Thanks for your help. I think I will leave avoid using eitheir "because" or "that" to avoid wordiness.

Princehal

Yoong Liat

#335674 Sun, 04 Mar 07 08:24 PM

Princehal wrote:
Thanks for your help. I think I will leave avoid using eitheir "because" or "that" to avoid wordiness.

Mon Mar. 5, 2007 | Tell a Friend | Subscribe | Books

Resources: Newest Writing Tip | More Tips

Writing Tip: July 23, 2003

Writing Tip: "The Reason Is Because" vs. "The Reason Is That"

Recently a tip subscriber wrote to ask us which of the following constructions is correct:

1. The reason we were late is because there was an accident on Interstate 26.
2. The reason we were late is that there was an accident on Interstate 26.

The correct choice is sentence 2.

The first sentence won't work because the subject ("reason") is being linked to a clause that functions as an adverb: "because there was an accident on Interstate 26."

One trick for remembering which construction is correct is to think of the words "reason" and "because" as creating a redundancy, saying in effect "the reason is the reason".