Jump to content

Menu

grammar question


Recommended Posts

Which is correct?

 

The reason I am hungry is because I skipped breakfast.

The reason I am hungry is that I skipped breakfast.

 

I am having a disagreement with someone over this.

 

Ack! I also realize it could be:

 

I am hungry because I skipped breakfast or perhaps The reason I am hungry is I skipped breakfast, or possible other better ways! But, given the first two, which is correct? And can you explain why? I was taught that one of those first two is wrong.

 

TIA!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"The reason... is that..."

is correct.

(Or: I am hungry because ....)

 

"the reason is.. because..." is incorrect. It is redundant.

 

The person with whom I am disagreeing concedes redundancy. But somewhere along the way I was taught there is no "is because." Can "is because" be used in a sentence correctly? Or is the issue always redundancy? In other words, is it technically incorrect or is it a style issue? Thanks, again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But somewhere along the way I was taught there is no "is because." Can "is because" be used in a sentence correctly? Or is the issue always redundancy? In other words, is it technically incorrect or is it a style issue? Thanks, again.

 

I can't think of a sentence where "is because" would be good grammar.

It is "I am hungry because I skipped breakfast." or "I am late because I overslept."

 

"Because" is a subordinating conjunction starting a depending clause that provides and explanation to the independent clause. I don't see how one could correctly construct a sentence with "is because".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...