Geoff, and all,
The reverse is equally true. Consider "Because you were late, we
lost everything" as opposed to "We lost everything because you were
late." Since losing everything seems a more important piece of
information, the first seems smoother (more congruent with meaning) to
my ear. It also allows for two pints of emphasis.
Introductory word groups of all kinds (anything other than the main
clause grammatical subject) are recognized as *marked theme* in systemic
functional grammar. They are intonationally marked in speech. They
function as a stepping off point for the mesage structure of the
sentence. It is not a trivial choice. Awkwardness would depend on
context, not on some arbitrary formal rule.
Unfortunately, English teachers tend to rely on hearing as an
alternative to grammar. Saying you should put commas where you hear the
pause is about as useful as "a sentence is a complete thought,"
dangerous because it oversimplifies. Intonation is a grammatical system,
and paying attention to it leads us into the heart of syntax--more
appropriately, into the heart of the grammar-meaning connection.
We don't just punctuate sentences--we construct them. The
punctuation should work in harmony with those choices. Most students
don't get very far on hearing alone. It is also one thing to know how
you would say it, another to anticipate how a reader would hear it on
the basis of what you have provided (or failed to provide) as clues.
Craig
On 4/13/2011 11:49 AM, Geoffrey Layton wrote:
> TJ - Not to quibble, but I think the emphasis was on "awkward," not
> "incorrect," and starting a sentence with because can be considered
> awkward depending on the useage.
>
> Geoff Layton
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:38:37 -0500
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Punctuation Question
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Crystal,
> Your encouragement of your students is a matter of choice, but I don't
> see that beginning a
> sentence with "Because" is incorrect.
>
> tj
>
>
> On Wednesday 04/13/2011 at 10:01 am, Crystal Edmonds wrote:
>
> The subordinating conjunction "because" is used to link the
> dependent clause to the independent clause. I encourage my
> students to place such subordinate clauses at the end of the
> sentence so that there are no errors in comma usage. However, many
> students want to begin a sentence with "because". While it is not
> incorrect, the sentence structure does appear awkward.
> Using "for" illustrates students' sentence variety. That is
> important for me.
> C. Edmonds, Chair
> Associate in Arts
> English and Humanities
> Robeson Community College
> PO Box 1420
> Lumberton, NC 28359
> (910) 272-3700 ext. 3362
> (910) 272-3328 (fax)
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> *RCC 4 R.E.A.L.*/Reading Engages Active Learning/
>
> A Quality Enhancement Plan at Robeson Community College
>
> >>> On 4/13/2011 at 8:52 AM, in message
> <[log in to unmask]>,
> "Katz, Seth" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Traditional lists of coordinating conjunctions included "for"
> (hence the "F" in the acronym "FANBOYS" for remembering the list
> of coordinating conjunctions); but it seems to me that the use of
> "for" as a coordinating conjunction in English has largely been
> succeeded by the use of "because."
>
> I find I'm not sure here what the distinction is between a
> coordinating conjunction and a subordinating conjunction. Help?
>
> Dr. Seth Katz
> Assistant Professor
> Department of English
> Bradley University
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of T.
> J. Ray
> Sent: Wed 4/13/2011 6:16 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Punctuation Question
>
>
> I believe you're right in thinking he feels this is a coordinate
> conjunction. My understanding is that
> "because" clauses are dependent and hence should not be preceded
> with a comma. I just
> wanted a number of opinions before I bring it to the committee's
> attention, folks who evidently
> don't see a problem with it as no one had marked any of these
> before I saw the MSS.
>
> Thanks for your time.
>
>
>
> On Wednesday 04/13/2011 at 5:43 am, "Dixon, Jack" wrote:
>
> Focusing on the obvious, I suspect the writer believes that
> "because" functions as a coordinating conjunction rather than a
> subordinating. Does the student punctuate most subordinating
> clauses that follow the independent clause this way, or do he make
> this mistake with "because" only?
>
> I seem to remember that Martha Kolln in _Rhetorical Grammar_
> addresses the few instances when terminal subord. clauses are set
> off with commas.
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of T. J. Ray [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2011 8:10 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Punctuation Question
>
> I have a doctoral student who produces sentences like the following:
>
> "This quatrain cannot be read in isolation at all, because the syntax
> is
> inherent and incomplete on its own."
>
> My question is not a search for whatever he meant to say but is about
> his punctuation: the comma. Comments are welcome.
>
> T. J.
>
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