From a grammatical point of view, “because” is always written separately.

Why not together or with a hyphen?

First, let’s define what kind of part of speech this is – “because”? A it is nothing more than a complex union.

Despite the fact that there is a great temptation to write this stable combination together (“because”), It’s still correct to write it separately, since “because” and “that” are two different words, albeit united in a composite union.

The same applies to such a spelling as “because”. Apparently, there is a confusion between the completely independent word “what” and the particle “-that”, which is correctly written with a hyphen (“because of that”).

When to write “because”

Now we propose to explore another question: is it possible to write this combination in three words? Let's look at examples.

• Judging by what I heard, there is no point in hoping for their reconciliation.
• What can you tell about a man by what he eats?
• A woman's character can be determined by what she carries in her purse.

In the above sentences, “by the fact that” is correct to write in three words, since in these cases it is not a complex conjunction, but a combination of the preposition “by”, the pronoun “that” and the conjunction “that”. It is not difficult to distinguish it from a compound union: you just need to ask the question “why?” A sentence that contains “because” will answer your question, but in the case of “because” you will not get an answer because the question is illogical.

By the way, in the first example, the phrase “judging by the fact that” is also a complex conjunction, the spelling of which must be remembered.

Semantics

The conjunction “because” joins the subordinate clause of a complex sentence.

• You're lying to me, and it's all because you're afraid of falling out of favor.
• I don't tend to lose my head over love because I don't let my feelings get the better of my reason.
• In sentences with this conjunction you will always find a connection between reason and consequence.

Synonyms

If you need to replace “because” with a conjunction that is close in meaning, we suggest choosing from the following series:

• Because,
• Because of,
• Because the,
• Because,
• After all,
• Because,
• Due to the fact that,
• Thanks to,
• Then,
• Due to the fact that.

When choosing one of these synonyms, pay attention to the appropriateness of its use in a particular style of speech. So, say, a colloquial “because” will clearly not fit into the official business style, and a book “for” will sound ridiculous in common parlance.

Punctuation features

When it comes to graphically highlighting a conjunction in a letter, the main difficulty is where to put the comma - before the conjunction or inside it. Let's figure it out.

The place of the comma in such sentences is usually determined by the writer himself. It depends on what purpose he pursues in his statement. Examples for comparison:

• She liked him because he behaved gallantly.(The result is emphasized.)
• I don't keep pets because I don't have time to take care of them.(The reason is emphasized.)

When a conjunction is dismembered, “therefore” is included in the main part of the complex sentence.

• I won't go to the cinema with him(for what reason?) because he doesn't know how to behave.
• The actress's cheeks flushed red(for what reason?) That's why(why exactly?) that she forgot the text.

However, there is a number of conditions under which the union must be divided into two parts:

1. The particle “not” before the conjunction.

• He loved her not because she had unearthly beauty.

2. Before the union, a particle that takes on the functions of limitation, strengthening, etc.

• He agreed only because it promised him profitable prospects.

3. Introductory word (construction) before the conjunction.

• She was late, probably because it took her a long time to choose a dress.

4. “Because” is included in a number of parallel constructions (these can also be homogeneous members).

I value friends because they don't let me get bored, and even more because they are my only support in life.

There is no need to dismember a complex conjunction if it is at the beginning of the sentence(most likely this will be an incomplete sentence). Examples:

• Because you are dear to me.
• Because it's more convenient for me.

Let’s make a brief conclusion: if the sentence puts the emphasis on the reason, a comma before “what”, if the emphasis is on the result, a comma before “because”.

So, now we know for certain: the complex conjunction “because” has the only correct spelling – separate. Why is this important to know? Because literacy has been valued at all times, and even more so now.

BECAUSE or BECAUSE
(comma for complex subordinating conjunctions)

In language, unlike arithmetic, when the positions of the terms are rearranged, the sum not only changes, but can sometimes turn into a difference.

Perhaps best of all, this property of our written speech is demonstrated by two popular “punctuation jokes.” The first of them is about the poor student Vita Perestukin, the hero of L. Geraskina’s story “In the Land of Unlearned Lessons,” whose fate turned out to depend on how he puts a comma in the sentence passed on him by His Majesty the Verb of the Imperative Mood “for ignorance, laziness and lack of knowledge of one’s native language.” language": EXECUTION CANNOT BE PARCORED. And the second is about a certain traveler who, in a moment of danger, promised in case of salvation " put up a golden statue holding a pike ", but as soon as the danger had passed, he decided not to fork out the cash and gave the order: " Place a statue holding a golden pike ".
Russian punctuation, according to the remark of one of its most subtle researchers N.S. Valgina, “has a clear purpose - to convey to the reader the meaning of what is written as it is reproduced by the writer.” That is why, by its very definition, it subjective, and therefore - and this is its fundamental difference from spelling - in most cases necessarily variable. And it is absolutely necessary to remember this when studying the system of punctuation rules: after all, according to A.P. Chekhov, “in a work of art, signs often play the role of notes, and you cannot learn them from a textbook; you need flair and experience.”

Try to find punctuation errors in the following sentences and understand how incorrect punctuation marks violate the meaning of the text:
1. It has long been established that octopuses are excellent learners, they have a good memory, they recognize the people who feed them and can become tame.
2. Anton shed tears when he saw him, bowed to the ground, told him that his old master was still alive and ran to harness the horses (A. Pushkin).
3. She [Anna Sergeevna] was walking alone, still wearing the same beret with a white Spitz (A. Chekhov).
4. I maintained two-way radio communication with the Earth and heard the voices of my comrades working at radio stations as clearly as if they were nearby (According to Yu. Gagarin).
5. Suddenly the driver began to look to the side and, finally taking off his hat, turned to me and said: “Master, would you order me to turn back?” (A. Pushkin).
6. Unfortunately, he was extremely short-sighted, so much so that he even wore glasses to some special order (A. Kuprin).
7. On the lower floor, under the balcony, the windows were probably open because women’s voices and laughter were clearly heard (A. Chekhov).

The last two examples illustrate the rule about placing a punctuation mark in a complex sentence with a compound subordinating conjunction ( due to the fact that, in view of the fact that, due to the fact that, due to the fact that, instead of, in order to, in order to, while, because, because, despite the fact that, after, before before and so on.).
If the subordinate clause is connected to the main clause using a complex (compound) subordinating conjunction, then the place of the punctuation mark is often determined by the writer himself, depending on the specific goals of the statement. You can write He liked herbecause she was very beautiful(emphasis on results) or He liked herbecauseshe was very beautiful(emphasis on the reason).
When a conjunction is divided, its first part becomes a correlative word included in the main part of a complex sentence as one of its members (as a rule, circumstances), and the subordinate clause acquires a clarifying character: Her face was subtly pink and slightly shiny(for what reason?) that's why(why exactly?) , What(M. Sholokhov). (cf. her face<…>shiny (for what reason?), because ofshe recently washed her face with soap.)

However, there are formal conditions dictating the mandatory dismemberment/non-dismemberment of such a union. The conditions for the mandatory dismemberment of the union include the following:

The presence of a negative particle “not” before the conjunction, for example: He liked hernot becauseshe was very beautiful.

The presence of intensifying, restrictive and other particles before the union, for example: He liked heronly (only, in particular, just, precisely and so on.) because was very beautiful.

The presence of an introductory word or introductory construction before the conjunction, for example: He liked herapparently (probably, maybe, it seems, obviously, one has to think, I think and so on.) , becauseshe was very beautiful.

Inclusion of the first part (correlative word) in a series of homogeneous members or parallel constructions, for example: He liked herbecausewas very beautifuland even more so because had extraordinary charm.

It must be borne in mind that some conjunctions, when broken into two parts, dramatically change their meaning, for example: I fell, So broke my knee (clause of consequence) - I fell Sobroke my knee(clause of manner of action with a connotation of the degree of this quality); He looked at herbecausehe liked her(subordinate reason) - He looked at herbecauseif he liked her(a subordinate clause of the manner of action with a connotation of the degree of this quality).
More often, a complex subordinating conjunction is not divided if the subordinate clause precedes the main one, for example: As the snow in the pot turned gray and turned into a milky-cloudy liquid, Pavel added snow from a bucket(B. Okudzhava). The indivisibility of the conjunction in this position is explained by the fact that the last part of the sentence is usually emphasized, while accents are rare at the beginning. Wed: Asthe sun was rising, the day was warmer and cheerful(I. Bunin). - The noise died down as the news penetrated to all corners of the hall(L. Leonov).
Complex unions are not dismembered whereas, while : He liked to read detective storieswhile (whereas) his wife preferred the romance novel genre.
Possibility of dismemberment of the union while detected when updating temporary meaning, especially when including words just, yet, most, exactly : I asked my grandfather about thisjust at the time he swung his second felt boot(M. Prishvin). Such sentences are close to sentences with the conjunction When (during the time when ): The mushrooms are really starting to growduring the time when rye shoots an ear(V. Tendryakov).

A. Kanevsky's story "On the Use of Punctuation Marks" talks about how " the man lost his comma and became afraid of complex sentences. I was looking for a simpler phrase. Simple phrases were followed by simple thoughts.
Then he lost the exclamation mark and began to speak quietly, with one intonation. Nothing pleased or outraged him anymore; he treated everything without emotion.
Then he lost the question mark and stopped asking any questions. No events aroused his curiosity, no matter where they happened - in space, on Earth, or even in his own apartment.
After another couple of years, he lost his colon and stopped explaining his actions to people.
By the end of his life, he only had quotation marks left. He did not express a single idea of ​​his own, he quoted someone all the time - so he completely forgot how to think and reached a point.
Watch out for punctuation!"

because or because

How to spell it correctly?

The word “because” is always written separately - because .

Word writing rule

To understand how this expression is written, let's figure out what parts of speech it consists of.

Expression " because" is nothing more than a complex conjunction.

We can explain the erroneous version of the continuous spelling by the fact that this expression is well known to everyone. And since it is pronounced in one breath, you want to write it together. However, this is not correct.

Compound union " because" consists of two separate words " That's why" And " What" Some manage to insert a hyphen between them, confusing the last conjunction with the particle “ That" In some sentences, depending on the context, this phrase must be written in three separate words. For example: A woman's character can be judged by what she has in her purse. In such cases, the expression " because"presented as a preposition " By", pronouns " that" and the union " What».

In order to distinguish between two different expressions, you need to ask the question “why?” If a sentence with a phrase gives the answer, then it is a compound conjunction, which is written in two words. If the answer is no, then this is a phrase that should be written in three words. It is also very important to correctly highlight this conjunction in the letter.

There are a number of rules about where exactly the comma should be placed. Briefly they can be described as follows:

• • if the essence of the sentence is focused on the reason, then a comma is placed before “ What»;

I haven't rested for a long time because I have a lot of work.

• • if on the result, a comma is placed before “ That's why»;

She liked you because you acted naturally.

In all cases the expression " because" is written separately.

Examples

• I didn't come to you because I was already late.
• We never pick mushrooms in the forest because We just don't eat them.
• Alena walked in the park all day, because I didn't want to go home.

Many people have various difficulties using the Russian language in oral and written speech. The question of how to spell "because" is one of the common difficulties.

This conjunction occurs very often in speech, and perhaps that is why many mistakes are made in it. They can be both spelling and punctuation (where exactly a comma is needed can be difficult to decide). Let's figure out how to write “because” correctly and clarify where to put commas.

When a conjunction is used: main cases

How this combination is written and how it is applied is a rather complex question. Let's start by defining the part of speech.

Before us is a complex (or composite) union. He usually connects two sentences into one, and thanks to him we can understand the reason for what is happening. As a rule, it occurs in complex sentences. These syntactic constructions consist of several parts - a main one and one or more subordinate ones.

Spelling "because"

The named conjunction consists of two words that contain 5 consonants (p, t, m, h, t) and 4 vowel sounds (o, o, u, o). The first word consists of three syllables, where the stress falls on the last of them, the second - of one. In the first word, the letter “o” is written in both unstressed syllables.

How to write “because” - together or separately?

Now we will figure out how to write “because”: together, separately or, perhaps, with a hyphen?

The words that make up this conjunction are always written separately. There can be no consistent spelling, since these are two different words. A common mistake is to write them with a hyphen. Obviously, this is caused, first of all, by the similarity of the word “what” with the particle “-that”, which is written with a hyphen (an example here is the word “because”).

To avoid this mistake, compare the two sentences in the example above. Please note that these words have slightly different meanings:

• Last year I fell ill with bronchitis. That's why I quit smoking.
• I quit smoking last year because I got bronchitis.

When is “by that” written separately?

For many, “therefore” and “therefore” are similar words, although in meaning they are far from true. They have completely different meanings. In the first case, the sentence mentions those specific objects or characteristic features that are emphasized. For example:

• I immediately concluded that the girl was not rich. It was noticeable in what she wore.

In this case, those things (clothes) that the girl wore are mentioned. That is, an observer can tell by her clothes how well off a girl is. There is no reason here, but objects are mentioned.

One more example:

• A person's preferences can be inferred from what he buys.

This sentence can be rephrased as follows: by the things a person buys, one can draw a conclusion about his preferences.

In the second case (when “because” is written together), the reason for some event is revealed. That is, you can ask the question “why?” and answer it immediately. In this case, the conjunction can be successfully replaced with synonyms “due to”, “since”, “since”, “after all” and others. For example:

• I left work early because I felt sick.

In this case, the phrase will look quite organic when replacing the conjunction “because” with another: I left work because I felt unwell.

One more example:

• I don't have money because I spent it.

This phrase does not change its meaning when replacing the conjunction with the word “since”: I have no money because I spent it.

Punctuation

The most difficult issue is the use of punctuation in sentences with this conjunction. Usually a comma is placed before it. For example:

• I don't know where he went because he didn't tell me..

Here you can ask the question: “Why do I not know where he went?” And answer him: “Because he didn’t tell me.” That is, we have two sentences that are combined into one by a subordinating conjunction.

• We got very wet because we got caught in the rain(What was the reason we got wet? The reason was the rain).
• I don't have a phone because it was stolen(Why don't I have a phone? Because it was stolen).

There are cases when a comma is placed before the second word of the conjunction and not before “therefore”:

1. With a meaning-intensifying particle (for example, “only”): I liked him only because he treated me with great tenderness.
2. With an introductory word such as "probably", "must be", "probably": They didn't come, probably because they were very busy.We never met, probably because he left before me.
3. With a negation particle “not” before the conjunction: I wasn't late because I got stuck in traffic.

Bottom line

The Russian language is quite complex in terms of spelling and punctuation, but this does not at all justify, for example, preparing documents with errors.

This means that every self-respecting person should strive to speak and write correctly. This article will hopefully help you. For convenience, we will list once again how to correctly spell “because”:

1. The named conjunction is always written separately.
2. A comma can be placed either before or inside it.
3. The words “because” and “by that” have different meanings and are written differently.

Russian language

How to use a comma with the conjunction “because”?

2 comments

It’s easy to figure out how to correctly place a comma in the “because” conjunction. There is a misconception that a comma will always be inserted before “what”, this is not true, there are exceptions.

It is unwise to repeat the mistakes of others; you need to understand the designs. There is no comma after the conjunction “because” and the rules do not say this.

Comma in the conjunction “because”

It is placed before the word and therefore in the middle between words, but for this certain conditions must be met. What is the main idea of ​​the sentence?

What should the reader understand first?

When we pronounce words, we pause and use intonation to express all punctuation marks. In oral speech, we don’t think about how to pause; they are formed on an intuitive level.

Written speech is devoid of emotional outbursts, and signs help to correctly determine the mood or essence of the spoken phrase. They influence people's perception of information. With the help of signs, we can understand how the author wants to convey his emotions to us in the text.

Comma before because

A comma placed in the right place will not change the essence of the sentence.

• He was walking along the road and tripped because he did not see a large stone.

There is a reason: he stumbled because he didn’t see.

• He was walking along the road and tripped because his legs were tired and the sidewalk was occupied by a car.

In the second sentence we confirm the action: I stumbled because my legs were tired. If we put a comma before “Because,” the essence of the sentence would change.

If you compose sentences in such a way that you want to use a participial phrase to explain the first action of the sentence, then put a comma after it.

• He went outside for a walk because his head needed fresh air.
• We walk across this bridge because it has recently been repaired.
• Marina takes up dancing because she does not see herself in any other profession.

Now let's look at examples of sentences that are exactly the same, but punctuation marks can be placed in different places. And the essence of the proposals will change radically.

Example 2

• She loved him because he was always there.
• She loved him because he was always there.

Commas placed in different places in identical sentences change its essence. In the first option, it is appropriate to ask the question, why did the girl love the guy?

He was always there. In the second case, it says that the girl loved, and the main emphasis is done on the fact of the existence of love, and for what exactly is of secondary importance.

After looking at several examples, we found out that a comma can be placed in different places depending on the essence of the sentence.

Where is the comma placed in the conjunction “because”?

In the rules we put a comma after the word therefore and add various particles, and also put a sign before because.

1. The particle “Not” before “because”:
   She didn't love him because he was handsome and smart.
2. Before “Because” there are introductory words or participial phrases, separated by commas on both sides:
   He was walking along the road and tripped, as it turned out, because he was not looking at the road.
   As it turns out, this is an introductory construction.
3. A comma is placed before “What” in the “because” construction if a special clarifying particle is added before the conjunction, which creates a restrictive or expressive character for the sentence.
   He was walking along the road and tripped only because the sidewalk was occupied by a parked car.
   Just a clarifying particle.
4. If a sentence has several homogeneous members, then a comma must be placed after “therefore”.
   She loved the guy because he was brave, and also because he was handsome and smart.

In all of the above 4 cases, A comma must be placed before “what”.

If any action is expressed, then followed by an explanation of the reason for this action, then a comma is most often placed before the “because” construction.

So we looked at several examples that will help you better understand the popular union. You will also be able to get acquainted with the...