1. C a u s e a n d
E f f e c t
P h r a s e s
N. Valdelomar
2. C A U S E A N D E F F E C T P H RA S E S
Caus e is why something happened. Effec t is what happens.
• One way to connect ideas (causes and effects) into one sentence or story is to use transition
phrases or words.
• Remember that cause happens first, but it does not necessarily come first in the text.
Examples:
He got a n A on his exa m bec a us e he s tudied a lot.
or
Sinc e he s tudied a lot, he got a n A on his exa m.
She forgot her money, s o s he didn’t pa y.
or
She didn’t pa y bec a us e s he forgot her money.
3. S O M E C O M M O N T R A N S I T I O N P H R A S E S
A N D WO R D S A R E :
because
of
due to since therefore so
if… then before after thus because
4. T H U S
• Thus is an adverb, and it means “as a result” or “consequently”
• A sentence with thus can be written in any of these three forms:
French fries have a lot of fat and salt. Thus , we must avoid eating them too
often.
French fries have a lot of fat and salt; thus , we must avoid eating them too often.
French fries have a lot of fat and salt, and(,) thus (,) we must avoid eating them
too often.
5. S O
• So is a coordinating conjunction, and it means “and for that reason” or “and
because of that”
• A sentence with s o is written like this:
French fries have a lot of fat and salt, s o we must avoid eating them too often.
6. T H E RE F O RE
• Therefore is also an adverb, which means “as a logical consequence.”
• A sentence with therefore can be written in any of these three forms:
Fast food is usually inexpensive. Therefore, people eat it more frequently.
Fast food is usually inexpensive; therefore, people eat it more frequently.
Fast food is usually inexpensive, and(,) therefore(,) people eat it more frequently.
7. B E C A U S E O F V S . B E C A U S E
• Both beca us e and beca us e of are used to introduce a cause.
• Beca us e of is a preposition, whereas beca us e is a conjunction.
• Beca us e is followed by a subject and a verb (a clause).
I feel better now beca us e I have a healthier diet
• Beca us e of is followed by a pronoun or a noun phrase.
I feel better now beca us e of my new diet.
• Beca us e can be used in place of s ince and a s .
Click HERE for practice.
8. D U E T O
• Due to is a preposition and its meaning is “attributable to” or “caused
by.”
• It is used to introduce the reason for something happening.
• Usage of due to is correct if the sentence makes sense when due to is
replaced with “caused by.”
The traffic jam was due to (ca us ed by) a terrible accident at the
intersection.
9. S I N C E
• Since is a conjunction and its meaning is “because.”
Since the electricity went out for most of the day, the ice cream
in the freezer melted.
10. I F … T H E N , A F T E R, B E F O RE
• These structures can also serve to express cause-effect relationships.
• Look at the following examples:
If it rains hard, then the roads flood.
Before the roads flood, it rains hard.
After it rains hard, the roads flood.
Practice by clicking on each exercise Ex. 1, Ex. 2, Ex. 3, Ex. 4, Ex. 5.
11. I N F O R M AT I O N
TA K E N A N D
A DA P T E D
F RO M :
• https://jakubmarian.com/so-thus-therefore-and-
hence-in-english/
• https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-
between-because-and-vs-because-
of/#:~:text=Both%20because%20and%20because%
20of%20are%20used%20to%20give%20reasons.&tex
t=Because%20of%20is%20a%20preposition%2C%2
0whereas%20because%20is%20a%20conjunction.&t
ext=Because%20is%20followed%20by%20a,ing%20
verb%20and%20a%20noun.&text=Because%20is%2
0used%20in%20place%20of%20since%20and%20as.
• https://pediaa.com/difference-between-because-
and-because-of/
• https://www.englishgrammar.org/because-and-
because-of-2/
• https://www.collinsdictionary.com/es/diccionario/
ingles/due-to
• https://e-gmat.com/blogs/due-to-vs-because-
of/#:~:text=Usage%20of%20'due%20to'%20is,beca
use%20of'%20are%20not%20interchangeable.
