Learn English – Using “because” at the beginning of a sentence

conjunctionsparts-of-speech

In Standard English, the word because can be used to introduce a clause (subordinating conjunction) or paired with of to form a compound preposition. Recently, because has been used in non-standard English to introduce a noun phrase (because noun), as such, behaves like a preposition.
source: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/because-as-a-preposition

Subordinating conjunction

Jack got a raise because he did a good job.

Compound preposition

Jack got a raise because of his good performance.

Because noun

Jack got a raise, because efficiency.

(Adding a bit of emphasis on because and a pause – half a beat, almost like stopping before a comma, before the word efficiency)

Consider the following sentence.

Because Jack does the job so well, he can expect a raise.

Following Standard English, is the because in the sentence above considered a subordinating conjunction despite sentence order?

Best Answer

The short answer is, no. The word because loses its status as a subordinating conjunction because it is no longer acting to join a dependant clause with an independent clause.

However, the dependent clause that it is part of remains a subordinating clause. Also, this clause, with because, becomes an introductory phrase.

Mignon Fogarty talks about starting a sentence with because in "Can You Start a Sentence with 'Because'?":

"Because" heads up subordinate clauses, which means if you have a clause that starts with "because," you must also have a main clause in your sentence. A main clause is something that could be a complete sentence by itself. The main clause can come first or last; if it comes last, you need a comma.

Because Squiggly woke up late, he had to postpone the fishing trip.
(subordinate clause first, note the comma)

Related Topic