As and because are conjunctions that introduce subordinate clauses (a clause that can’t stand alone in a sentence) that connect a result and a reason.
As can mean because, particularly in the sense of the reason for, and it is also used when two events happen at the same time.
As a result of is a phrase that can substitute for because of while as long as is an informal equivalent of because and is used to express the thought that given that one thing is occurring or will occur or is true, another is possible.
Because emphasizes the reason and is the subordinate clause that ends the sentence.
Exploring Later . . .
You may also want to explore “Nope, It’s Not As You Like It“, “As versus For“, “As versus Since“, “As versus That“, and/or “As versus Whether“.
You may also be curious about “Because Of versus Due To“.
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 noir for you from either end.
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| As | Because | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Injured Finger by oksmith is under the CC0 1.0 license, via OpenClipArt. — She can’t write very well, as she’s injured her finger. |
Woman Holding Cup of Coffee is in the public domain, via PickPik. — Because of her diet, she only ordered a cup of coffee. |
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| Part of Grammar: | |||||||||
| Conjunction, causal | Conjunction, causal | ||||||||
| Check the Punctuation page for information on comma usage for: | |||||||||
| as | because | ||||||||
Because
Even though As a result of As long as |
For the reason that
Since By cause of |
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| Examples: | |||||||||
| Rule: As is often used in causal senses in place of because. | |||||||||
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| History of the Word: | |||||||||
| Middle English as a reduced form of the Old English alswā meaning similarly. | Middle English from the phrase by cause and influenced by the Old French par cause de meaning by reason of. | ||||||||
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, Building Your Website, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Marketing Help & Resources, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, and/or Writing Ideas and Resources.
Resources for As versus Because
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Apple Dictionary.com
Khurana, Anjali. “English Grammar: What part of speech is ‘as’?” Quora. 2012. Accessed n.d. <http://www.quora.com/Grammar/What-part-of-speech-is-as>.
Straus, Jane. “Tackling More Tricky Word Choices: As, Because, and Since.”
Grammar Book.com. n.d. Web. 6 May 2021. <https://www.grammarbook.com/blog/effective-writing/tackling-more-tricky-word-choices-as-because-and-since/>.
Pinterest Photo Credits
Auction Sales in Greene County by Arthur Rothstein is in the public domain, via Picryl and courtesy of the Library of Congress.
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