영어 Hint of the Day #23: Don't use the word "because" to start a sentence unless you are an expert

영어 Hint of the Day #23: Don't use the word "because" to start a sentence unless you are an expert

Today, I read this on http://www.twitter.com/.  It is a common error, and can be corrected easily.

(x)  Because the test is an important step to make my life happy.

Sentences should not begin with the word "because."  Why is that?  Read the sentence above again.  There is no subject or verb.  The word "because" is the first word of a clause, which answers the question "why?"  In verbal (spoken) English, it is common to begin a sentence with the word "because."

For example, this is in spoken English.
Question:  Why do you think that Shin Min-a is pretty?
Answer:   Because she has large dimples.

Strictly speaking, the answer is grammatically incorrect (even if factually correct).  In this case, the person giving the answer has shortened the sentence.  If the person giving the answer spoke correctly, it would've been this:

Answer:  She is pretty because she has large dimples.

If you are an advanced English speaker or writer, there is a correct way of beginning a sentence with the word "because."

(o)  Because she has large dimples, Shin Min-a is pretty.
(o)  Because I am ugly and have bad breath, I don't have a girlfriend.

In these cases, there are subjects and verbs, and therefore, the sentences are grammatically correct.  Remember that The Lost Seoul is trying to advise native Korean speakers to use simple sentence structure correctly first, and then make it more complicated after you have mastered the simple cases.  One way to make it easy and correct:  don't use the word "because" as the first word in a sentence, especially in written English.