MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH

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  Drag&Drop
How to express reason
Focus Grammar
Description Practise the different connectors to express reason in English and when to use each of them. Also, pay attention to punctuation.
Instructions Click on the words at the bottom and drag them into the empty boxes of the sentence to complete it.
 
Gapped text Items
Listen to this ______________________ it's very important because of / because / that's why
______________________ you have finished, you can go home Because of / That's why / As
I'm from Australia. ______________________ I speak with a different accent. That's why / Because / Since / Because of
______________________ I speak no German, we had to communicate in English Since / Because of / That's why
It's closed ______________________ it's 6 o'clock because of / that's why / because
He was on holiday. ______________________ he was never at home That's why / 'Cause / Because of
______________________ we are only three people, we need more help to do it Because of / As / That's why
______________________ I'm Australian, I speak perfect English Since / Because of / That's why
I don't want to go ______________________ I'm too tired that's why / because of / because
It's very cold. ______________________ I need a coat. That's why / Because of / Because / Since / 'Cause / As
I was worried ______________________ Tally was late that's why / because / because of
She had problems ______________________ tobacco 'cause / that's why / because of
______________________ we are all here, let's start dinner now As / Because of / That's why
We came to live here ______________________ the sea because of / because / that's why
I've been working all day. ______________________ I'm so tired. Because of / Since / As / That's why / Because
______________________ you don't like it, I'll have it Since / Because of / That's why
It's expensive ______________________ it's good quality because / because of / that's why
I can't buy it ______________________ it's too expensive for me because of / that's why / 'cause
He sat on the floor ______________________ there were no chairs free since / that's why / because of
______________________ you know her, you can invite her to come As / Because of / That's why
Don't go now ______________________ it's too late 'cause / that's why / because of
England is very green ______________________ the rain because / that's why / because of
______________________ this chair is broken, we only have 4 chairs in good condition, we need one more. That's why / Because of / As
She was late ______________________ the traffic because of / because / that's why
Listen well, ______________________ I'm not going to repeat it twice because of / that's why / 'cause
It's Sunday. ______________________ the shops are closed As / Because / Because of / That's why
______________________ it was raining, we decided to stay at home Because of / Since / That's why
She started to cry ______________________ you because of / 'cause / that's why
I'm going to bed ______________________ it's very late 'cause / that's why / because of
I live here ______________________ I like this city 'cause / that's why / because of
Total number of items: 30
This is an activity from Multimedia-English www.multimedia-english.com
 

BECAUSE (c)

      I was worried because Tally was late

In conversation we very often use the form 'CAUSE (also spelled: coz, cos or cuz, cus in American English)
      I left cause I was getting bored

BECAUSE  OF+ noun (p)

This is a preposition, so it is not followed by a clause with a verb, it is followed by a noun or noun phrase

      She was late because of the traffic
      I was tired because of all the hard work
 
AS / SINCE (c)

These conjunctions are formal. In a less formal language we prefer the equivalent with SO:

     As it's raining again, we'll have to stay at home (= It was raining again, so we had to stay at home)
     Since it's too late, I think we should stop now  (= it was too late, so I think we should stop)
 
They're used when the reason is already well known, or it is less important than the rest of the sentence.  These clauses often begin the sentence:
 
      Since I speak no German, we had to communicate in English
      Since it's too late, we should leave it for tomorrow
      It's very noisy here, since we live close to a motorway

Compare:

- Sorry, I must go because I have a meeting at 5  (I'm giving you new information)
- Since today is Sunday, let's stay at home and rest  (we both know that today is Sunday)

THAT'S (THE REASON) WHY (c.)

This relative clause is very commonly used to express reason (especially in its short version)
 
     My car's broken, that's the reason why I came walking
     I didn’t know she was your sister, that’s why I didn't talk to her
     You speak very good English. Oh yes, I forgot your mother's English. That's why

 

abbreviations:  (c.)= conjunction  (p.)= preposition    (see the important difference here: Kinds of Connectors)