No Comma Before "Because"

[MonDie]

My English 101 teacher told us to not put a comma before "because." However, it seems like the comma could make an important distinction when the first part of the sentence contains two verbs. I'll give an example.

 

"Don't drink the tea that is steaming (,) because..."

 

"Don't drink the tea that is steaming (,) because it is evaporating."

I would say no comma because the because-portion is related to the latter verb, "steaming."

"The tea that is steaming because it is evaporating," can be considered an independent part of the sentence.

 

"Don't drink the tea that is steaming (,) because you already burnt your tongue once today."

I would say add the comma because the because-portion isn't solely related to the latter verb, "steaming," it is related to the action of drinking steaming tea.

"The tea that is steaming because you already burnt your tongue once today," is nonsense.

Edited July 6, 2012 by Mondays Assignment: Die

[John Cuthber]

I think you are right, but it would be better to rewrite the sentence.

[imatfaal]

[skitt's law on]

 

Not sure about the validity of your examples. If I were in hypercritical mode I wouldn't use "Don't drink the tea that is steaming (,) because..." unless there were a fixed number of cups of tea only some of which were steaming. That is to say, I would prefer a more universal admonition "Don't drink tea that is steaming". Once my silliness is taken care of, and back on the comma issue, I think in the main I would agree with your teacher. A few examples:

 

"Don't drink tea that is steaming because it will burn your tongue." The acid test is to say the sentence aloud. When I read that sentence there are no additional pauses and thus no commas.

 

"Don't drink tea that is steaming (,) because you already burnt your tongue once today." 'Because' is not used quite correctly here - the sentence is quite understandable without it "Don't drink the tea that is steaming; you already burnt your tongue once today!" This is a command and a statement of fact - but the causal link is left to the listener's imagination. The reason not to drink tea that is steaming is that it is too hot or because it will burn your mouth - not that you have already burnt your tongue today (that is a historical fact that may or may not have relevance - it could have been the hot dogs).

 

By the way 'tea that is steaming' as a phrase can be treated as a noun; 'that is steaming' is an adjectival clause which describes the tea, steaming is not an active main verb.

 

[/skitt's law off]

[studiot]

Neither I nor several famous English literary figures can agree with your teacher.

 

Byron : I abhor death, because that thou must die

 

Robert Burton : Annointing the doors and hinges with oil, because they should not creak.

 

Of course there are cases for not inserting a comma and cases for using a full stop or other punctuation mark.

 

'Because' can be either an adverb or a conjunction.

 

I think there is some choice about the issue depending upon the gap the author wishes to place into the text.

 

As such both can be used with your steaming example.

 

Kipling : I buy then because they are pretty.

 

However he could have written

 

I buy them, because they are pretty he added thoughtfully.

Edited July 6, 2012 by studiot

[D H]

"The tea that is steaming because you already burnt your tongue once today," is nonsense.

Well of course it's nonsense. You reformed the sentence into a non-sentence. The sentence "Don't drink the tea that is steaming because you already burnt your tongue once today" is not nonsense. It's just ambiguous and poorly written. There is a problem here with constructions such as "Don't drink the tea because." A negated clause followed by "because" is oftentimes ambiguous. "I didn't marry Bob because I wanted a stable marriage" is a favorite of those who argue that using a comma before "because" is sometimes correct. Did the person marry Bob for some other reason, or did the person's desire for a stable marriage lead this person to not marry Bob? Those who think that adding a comma makes the distinction clear are IMHO wrong. All that adding a comma does is to make the sentence grammatically incorrect.

 

If you think adding a comma before "because" will help, it won't. What you should think instead is that "I need to rewrite this sentence so it is clear."

Edited July 6, 2012 by D H

[JMJones0424]

First, and most importantly, I'd recommend following your teacher's advice in this instance for no other reason than that your teacher is the one that assigns grades.

 

However, my incomplete understanding of grammar leads me to make a few observations.

My English 101 teacher told us to not put a comma before "because." However, it seems like the comma could make an important distinction when the first part of the sentence contains two verbs. I'll give an example.

 

"Don't drink the tea that is steaming (,) because..."

Steaming is not really a verb, it is a present participle. It is an adjective modifying tea.

 

Furthermore, a comma is used before certain conjunctions when joining two sentences. "Because" is not one of those conjunctions. This is English, the grammar isn't supposed to be logical, it just is. The only time I think it is appropriate to use a comma when using because is when the sentence order is rearranged. For example: "Because you have already burnt your tongue once today, don't drink the steaming tea."

[D H]

Neither I nor several famous English literary figures can agree with your teacher.

 

Byron : I abhor death, because that thou must die

 

Robert Burton : Annointing the doors and hinges with oil, because they should not creak.

That's because they know how and when to violate the rules for emphasis.

 

 

'Because' can be either an adverb or a conjunction.

Find one dictionary that says "because" can be an adverb. "Because" is a conjuction. Period. "Because" can introduce an adverbial clause, but that does not mean "because" is an adverb.

[imatfaal]

The Anatomy of Melancholy quote is hardly a usual English sentence, and although beautiful like the entire work, you managed to snip off the beginning and the end

 

"What shall I say," saith Hædus, "of their great dangers they undergo, single combats they undertake, how they will venture their lives, creep in at windows, gutters, climb over walls to come to their sweethearts," (anointing the doors and hinges with oil, because they should not creak, tread soft, swim, wade, watch, &c.) , "and if they be surprised, leap out at windows, cast themselves headlong down, bruising or breaking their legs or arms, and sometimes losing life itself," as Calisto did for his lovely Melibæa.

 

And Heaven and Earth is written in deliberately archaic form to mirror the subject matter - albeit by a master. As I mentioned, and you re-iterated, it is whether the speaker/author requires a natural pause. Any other reason for a comma is artificial to a greater or lesser extent. The best advice is to read the sentence aloud; everything becomes much easier in the spoken form.

[studiot]

Find one dictionary that says "because" can be an adverb. "Because" is a conjuction. Period. "Because" can introduce an adverbial clause, but that does not mean "because" is an adverb.

 

The only one that counts : My quotes came from the Oxford English Dictionary.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

The only one that counts : My quotes came from the Oxford English Dictionary.

Indeed. The OED lists "because" as an adverb, conjunction, and noun.

 

An example of adverbial use given is S. Chaplin Day of Sardine viii. 164, "I know a lot of people that rant on about their religion and it doesn't do any good. Because why? Because they're trying to convince themselves, maybe?"

[StringJunky]

The only one that counts : My quotes came from the Oxford English Dictionary.

 

Dictionaries are not authorities...they are merely accumulated records that mirror past and present usage. The people that use the language are actually the authorities.

 

In't the English language great?

 

For what it's worth, I consider OED to be the reference tome for English too.

[studiot]

I just posted this in another thread and it occured to me that I more often use a comma after 'because' than before it.

 

So tan (w) is disallowed because, although periodic, it regularly goes off to infinity.