by R. S. Karunaratne

Adverbial clauses with ‘Because’

We use an adverbial clause with ‘because’ when we wish to give the reason for what is happening or what is stated in the main clause.

Remember that an adverbial clause with ‘because’ answers the question ‘Why?’

Nayana is happy because she has passed the examination.

A: Why is she crying?

B: Because she lost her pen.

Tarzan is barking because it is hungry.

We do not use ‘it’s before an adverbial clause beginning with ‘because’.

Mosquitoes are dangerous it’s because they spread dengue. (Wrong)

Mosquitoes are dangerous because they spread dengue. (Right)
Francis is shouting it’s because he is angry. (Wrong)
Francis is shouting because he is angry. (Right)
Lalith does not want to have breakfast it’s because he is not hungry. (Wrong)
Lalith does not want to have breakfast because he is not hungry. (Right)
Father’s old car runs well it’s because he looks after it. (Wrong)
Father’s old car runs well because he looks after it. (Right)

We do not use ‘of’ after ‘because’ at the beginning of an adverbial clause.

Children stopped playing because of it started raining. (Wrong)
Children stopped playing because it started raining. (Right)
We like small flowers because of they are graceful. (Wrong)
We like small flowers because they are graceful.(Right)
Children stayed at home because of it was a holiday. (Wrong)
Children stayed at home because it was a holiday. (Right)

An adverbial clause is similar to a subordinate clause. Like all other clauses, the adverbial clause must have a finite verb. When there is no finite verb, ‘because’ can be followed by ‘of’.

The match was postponed because of the bad weather.

We stopped working because of the unbearable heat.

I couldn’t see the perahera because of the huge crowd.

Lassie left her job because of regular night duty.

He cannot read small letters because of his poor eyesight.

Activity

Fill in the blanks with ‘because’ or ‘because of’. Check your answers with the key.

1. Kamal is walking to school ............................ his bicycle has broken down.
2. Sumaya lost her pen ........................... she was careless.
3. Employees are unhappy ...................... the new regulations.
4. Sara is popular ....................... she smiles with everybody.
5. Many Sri Lankans leave for Australia ..................... employment opportunities.
6. I like the new office ....................... easy travel.
7. I practise playing the violin ........................ I want to be a good violinist.
8. Cricketers can play at night..................... the playground is well lit.
9. Manel is healthy ........................... she exercises regularly.
10. People do not trust William ........................ he often tells lies.

************

Key:

1. because 2. because 3. because of 4. because 5. because of 6. because of 7. because 8. because 9. because 10. because

************

Starters:

Know when to use ‘Some’

‘Some’ is an amount or number of something which is not stated or not known. It can also mean a part of something.

There’s some ice-cream in the refrigerator.

Here’s some good news for those who have fared well in the examination.

We have some problems with the new printing machine.

You’ve to do some more work to finish the building.

The committee discussed the problem at some length.

We use ‘some’ in positive sentences.

I need some papers to write this essay.

There’s some water in the tank.

You’ve made some grammatical mistakes in your essay.

I saw somebody going into the classroom.

I also brought some flowers.

We use ‘some’ when we offer something to somebody.

A: Would you like some biscuits?

B: Yes, please.

A: Would you like something to drink?

B: No, thanks. I’m not thirsty.

You can have some coffee.

Would you like some lemon juice?

I can give you some money.

We use ‘some’ to refer to a particular person or thing without stating exactly which one.

Some lucky person will buy this house.

Some fool has left the front door open.

There should be some way to get a job.

Someone has taken my fountain pen.

Something has to be done to get rid of mosquitoes.

We use ‘some’ in informal English to show anger or disapproval.

Some people just don’t know how to use the toilet.

Some mad fellow has switched off the computer.

We use ‘somebody’ to indicate ‘someone’.

Somebody has to do all this work.

Somebody has written an article to the Junior Observer about our school.

Somebody is trying to cheat me again.

Somebody is trying to open the door.

Somebody can claim the house if you don’t occupy it.

We use ‘someday’ to indicate some time in the future which is not yet known.

Maybe someday we will meet again.

Someday you’ll have to find a job.

We use ‘somehow’ to mean ‘by some means’ which is not yet known.

I have to be in office at 8.30 a.m. somehow.

The candidate decided to win the election somehow.

We use ‘someplace’ to mean ‘somewhere’.

The suspects were found someplace in the Galgamuwa area.