Another English Language Myth...
THE MYTH – Always place a comma before the word <em>because</em>
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The following explanation describes a mistake that is often made by English learners,
as well as a few native English speakers.
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English learners often believe that a comma is needed before the conjunction because.
That’s a myth.
A myth is a widely held but false belief or idea.
<em>Because </em>is one of several words and phrases used to introduce a “clause of purpose.”
<em>Because </em>puts more emphasis on the reason, and most often introduces new information which is not known to the reader or listener.
A clause beginning with <em>because </em>answers the question “Why?” and that clause is automatically subordinate to (dependent on) an independent clause.
A subordinate clause—also called a dependent clause—will often begin with a subordinate conjunction and will contain both a subject and a verb.
A subordinate/dependent clause will not form a complete sentence.
It will instead make a reader want additional information to finish the thought.
The General Rule – When to use a comma before “Because”
There should generally be no comma between an independent clause and the subordinate clause when the independent clause comes first.
However, if the subordinate/dependent clause is placed before the independent clause, i.e., if the <em>because </em>clause comes at the beginning of the sentence, the <em>because </em>clause should be followed by a comma.
INCORRECT: Michael went to the forest, because he loves walking among the trees.
CORRECT: Michael went to the forest because he loves walking among the trees.
CORRECT: Because he loves walking among the trees, Michael went to the forest.
INCORRECT: Mom went on a shopping spree, because I told her I was having a baby boy.
CORRECT: Mom went on a shopping spree because I told her I was having a baby boy.
CORRECT: Because I told her I was having a baby boy, Mom went on a shopping spree.
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