Revised as of
29 June 2023
It’s just one teeny punctuation mark, that bloody apostrophe. You’ll remember that I whined in Let’s versus Lets about the apostrophe, indicating that it is a placeholder for missing letters, and that’s exactly what it’s doing here for ’cause, simply replacing the be with the ’.
| I can’t make a decision ’cause I don’t have the information.
. . . because I don’t have the information. |
It’s a cause I believe in.
It’s a principle I believe in. It’s a charity I believe in. |
It’s important to write dialogue and keep it real. If that means using ’cause instead of because so your character sounds real, keep the placeholder concept in mind. ’Cause writing realistic dialogue does not mean ignoring the punctuation, ya feel me?
You may want to explore “Casual versus Causal“.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| ‘Cause | Cause |
|---|---|
Just ‘Cause She Made Dem Goo-goo Eyes, 1900, is under the CC0 1.0 license, courtesy of the New York Public Library, via Public Domain Pictures.
|
Cause Awareness Ribbons byAnnalise Art is under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Short for because
Conjunction |
Noun 1; Verb, transitive 2
Plural for the noun: causes Third person present verb: causes |
| For the reason that
Since |
Noun: A person or thing that gives rise to an action, phenomenon, or condition Reasonable grounds for doing, thinking, or feeling something A principle, aim, or movement that, because of a deep commitment, one is prepared to defend or advocate [With adjective *] Something deserving of one’s support, typically a charity A matter to be resolved in a court of law An individual’s case offered at law
Verb, transitive: |
| Examples: | |
| We did it because we felt it our duty.
OR We did it ’cause we felt it our duty. Just because I’m inexperienced doesn’t mean that I lack perception. OR Just ’cause I’m inexperienced doesn’t mean that I lack perception. ‘Cause I said so! |
Noun: The cause of the accident is not clear. Faye’s condition had given no cause for concern. * The government had good cause to avoid war. Class size is a cause for complaint in some schools. She devoted her life to the cause of deaf people. I’m raising money for a good cause. Verb, transitive: We have no idea what has happened to cause people to stay away. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: causable, causeless Adverb: causelessly Noun: causability, causelessness, causer, cause célèbre |
|
| History of the Word: | |
| Middle English from the phrase by cause and influenced by the Old French par cause de meaning by reason of. | Middle English from the Old French, which is in turn from the Latin causa, causare. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for ‘Cause versus Cause
Apple Dictionary.com
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Wake Vortex Study at Wallops Flight Facility by NASA / Fir0002 was modified by Trialsanderrors and is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
