Can you start a sentence with because?

Because at the beginning of a sentence

A lot of learners of English ask the following questions: ‘Can you start a sentence with because?’, ‘Can you start a sentence with because in formal writing?’ ‘Is it acceptable to start a sentence with because?’ Can I start a sentence with because? Is it okay to start a sentence with because?

So, can you start a sentence with because?

Well, it’s really correct to start a sentence with because. The word because can be used as a subordinating conjunction. That is, it can be used to introduce a subordinating clause (= dependent clause) and connect it with an independent clause.

We can use because in a sentence as conjunction.

Here are some examples that answer your question ‘Can you start a sentence with because?’

• Because he missed the bus, he was late for school.
• Because they wasted much time on social media, they did not pass their exams.
• Because I didn’t complain, my friends thought I was satisfied.

Notice that the t sentences above start with because and have two clauses. Also, notice that we use a comma after the first clause.

 

Because at the beginning of a sentence

‘Because’ is a conjunction. For this reason, it is followed by two clauses. The clause which is introduced by the conjunction ‘because’ is dependent (=subordinate) and the second clause is dependent (the main clause).

In short, starting a sentence with because is correct in English.

Alternatives to starting a sentence with because

‘Because’ can also be used in the middle of a sentence. In this case, we don’t use a comma to split the two clauses. Here are some examples:

• He was late for school because he missed the bus.
• They didn’t pass their exams because they wasted a lot of time on social media.
• My friends thought I was satisfied because I didn’t complain.

Notice that ‘because’ is used in the middle of the sentence to join two independent clauses.

• He missed the bus. He was late for school.
• They wasted a lot of time on social media. They didn’t pass their exams.
• I didn’t complain. My friends thought I was satisfied.

We can use ‘so’ instead of ‘because’ to connect the same independent clauses.

• He missed the bus so he was late for school.
• They wasted a lot of time on social media so they didn’t pass their exams.
• I didn’t complain so my friends thought I was satisfied.

Can you start a sentence with also?  Find out the answer with some good examples.