Pimp my English | Other ways of saying “because”

By Anna Malczyk
In English, there are many words that express the concept of “the reason why something is how it is”. They are known as the adverbs of cause and effect. “Because” is the best-known one, but there are some others too. They have slight nuances of meaning that should be taken into account.

Because
“Because” is very popular and is the strongest of these words – it indicates that the reason for something is a very important part of the sentence.
•    We went inside because it was raining.
“Because” can be used in all cases where you want to show the reason for something. It is generally not used at the beginning of a sentence since it has such a powerful connotation.

As
“As” has several uses, and one of them is as a synonym for “because”. It’s quite a formal way of conveying the concept.
•    As it is Saturday, I’m going out for supper.
However, “as” has other, more common uses and it’s best to avoid using it as a synonym for “because” – this could cause confusion.

Since
“Since” lightly less formal than “as” and is a good substitute for “because” – it doesn’t imply the cause and effect as strongly.
•    Since you are a past student, you get a 10% discount.

Due to
Use “due to” when you want to show specifically that one thing cause another to happen directly. It can be quite formal, though it is also used in everyday speech.
•    The soccer match was cancelled due to rain.

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