• Podcasts
    • Grammar Girl
    • Curious State
    • Get-Fit Guy
    • Money Girl
    • Project Parenthood
    • Relationship Doctor
    • Modern Mentor
    • Nutrition Diva
    • Savvy Psychologist
    • Who Knew?
    • Unknown History
    • Modern Manners Guy
  • Books
  • Categories
    • Health & Fitness
    • House & Home
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Pets
    • Education
    • Tech
    • Productivity
    • Business & Career
    • Money & Finance
  • Offers
  • About QDT
What's Hot

Thrive in the Workplace by Building on These Pillars

March 27, 2023

Post-Training Soreness: Are You Getting Stronger?

March 24, 2023

Grammar Quirks: Juan Gomez-Jurado on His ‘False Friend’ in Writing

March 22, 2023
opens in a new window Facebook opens in a new window Twitter opens in a new window Instagram
Quick and Dirty Tips
  • Podcasts
    • Grammar Girl
    • Curious State
    • Get-Fit Guy
    • Money Girl
    • Project Parenthood
    • Relationship Doctor
    • Modern Mentor
    • Nutrition Diva
    • Savvy Psychologist
    • Who Knew?
    • Unknown History
    • Modern Manners Guy
  • Books
  • Categories
    • Health & Fitness
    • House & Home
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Pets
    • Education
    • Tech
    • Productivity
    • Business & Career
    • Money & Finance
  • Offers
  • About QDT
opens in a new window Facebook opens in a new window Twitter opens in a new window Instagram opens in a new window Pinterest
Quick and Dirty Tips
You are at:Home » Using “For” to Mean “Because”
Grammar Girl

Using “For” to Mean “Because”

Sorting out the confusion.

By Bonnie MillsMay 9, 20091 Comment6 Mins Read
opens in a new window Facebook opens in a new window Twitter opens in a new window Pinterest opens in a new window LinkedIn opens in a new window Tumblr opens in a new window Email
opens in a new window Apple Podcast Page opens in a new window Spotify Podcast Page opens in a new window Google Podcast Page opens in a new window Sticher Podcast Page
opens IMAGE file
Share
opens in a new window Facebook opens in a new window Twitter opens in a new window Pinterest opens in a new window WhatsApp opens in a new window Email

The grammar authorities are going to battle it out today. For they all have a different opinion about our topics: the merits of using the word “for” to mean “ opens in a new windowbecause,” and whether it’s OK to opens in a new windowstart a sentence with the word “for.”

The experts’ opinions range from,

  • yes, go ahead and put a “for” wherever you like—in the middle or at the beginning of a sentence; to
  •  yes, but “for” belongs best at the beginning of an independent clause; to
  • no, no way—you’re not allowed to put “for” at the beginning of a sentence.

Yikes! Who’s right? You’re going to upset someone no matter what you do.

Using “For” in the Middle of a Sentence

The experts do agree that you can use the word “for” as a conjunction to mean “ opens in a new windowbecause” or “ opens in a new windowsince.” In fact, it’s been used that way for more than a thousand years (1). No doubt you’ll come across sentences like

I was tired after my journey, for I had been forced to bike 20 miles.

You could just as easily use the word “because” instead of “for.” No grammarian would gripe about either sentence.

When you do use “for” in the middle of a sentence in that manner, one authority (2) suggests you use punctuation—in our example sentence a opens in a new windowcomma—before your “for.”

I was tired after my journey, [comm for I had been forced to bike 20 miles.

A opens in a new windowcomma here seems to make the sentence flow well and makes it opens in a new windoweasy for readers to follow.


Using “For” at the Beginning of a Sentence

Would any grammarians complain if you wanted to make the bicycle sentence two sentences, as in “I was tired after my journey. For I had been forced to ride my bike for 20 miles”? Yes, here’s where opinions definitely differ.

The most liberal view comes from the American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style and (3) tells us that “for” can be used in the middle of a sentence or to start a new one. It says, “All treatments are acceptable in standard usage.” So go ahead and write, “I used ‘for’ at the beginning of my sentence. For I felt like it.” This source does warn, though, that you won’t encounter “for” much in speech and informal writing because it “often lends a literary tone or note of formality to what is being said.”

The next two sources contradict each other: Garner’s Modern American Usage (4) states, “‘For’ has always been proper at the beginning of an independent clause,” and it goes on to give three examples in which “for” begins a sentence, as in “For she certainly has worked very hard indeed.” The other source, the New Fowler’s Modern English Usage (5), says about “for,” “It cannot normally be placed at the beginning of a sentence. Its function is to introduce the ground or reason for something previously stated.” Yes? No? Who knows?

The Fourth Source

To solve this conundrum, we need to look at a fourth source, which is the only one to bring up an issue that seems to be at the heart of this problem: incomplete sentences, which are sentences that are missing something. The well-respected website from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (6) offers various examples of incomplete sentences to avoid, and this list includes a sentence that starts with “for.” As most grammarians will suggest, this site advises you to rewrite opens in a new windowsentence fragments. And you should opens in a new windowrework an incomplete sentence unless you are trying to make your sentence stand out.

We now need to explore whether sentences that start with “for” are fragments. So we’re going to return to Garner’s, the source that liked “for” at the beginning of a sentence, and use “because” instead. Garner (7) complains about opens in a new windowsentence fragments that opens in a new windowstart with “because.” He calls this sentence an “ill-advised fragment”: “Because the industry stands at a very serious crossroads.” He explains that this sentence causes a miscue, meaning that readers could logically think that something else was going to follow the “because” statement.

Now let’s go back to one of the “for” sentences that he liked: “For she certainly has worked very hard indeed.” What happens when we change “for” to “because”? We end up with a fragment: “Because she certainly has worked very hard indeed.” So why does he like the “for” sentence and not the “because” sentence? It seems they’re essentially the same grammatically, so are these grammarians confused? Well, they’re certainly conflicted, and it would be easy to argue that statements beginning with “for” are fragments and are perhaps ill-advised.

Maybe sentences that start with “for” don’t cause miscues as much as sentences that start with “because.” It’s something to think about. Do you do a double take when you encounter a sentence that starts with “for”? Perhaps it depends on the person.

Conclusion

To conclude, if you think there’s a chance your sentence might be confusing or misleading, it’s a good idea to opens in a new windowfix it. Even if you like starting a sentence with the word “for,” remember that your readers might consider your sentence a formal-sounding fragment, so it’s a good idea to use the style sparingly.

The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier

This podcast was written by Bonnie Trenga, author of opens in a new windowThe Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier, who blogs at opens in a new windowsentencesleuth.blogspot.com, and I’m Mignon Fogarty, the author of the paperback book opens in a new windowGrammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.

References

1. American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005, pp. 187-8.
2. Burchfield, R. W, ed. The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage. Third edition. New York: Oxford, 1996, pp. 305-6.
3. American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005, pp. 187-8.
4. Garner, B. Garner’s Modern American Usage. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2003, p. 358.
5. Burchfield, R. W, ed. The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage. Third edition. New York: Oxford, 1996, pp. 305-6.
6. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/620/01/. Accessed April 30, 2009.
7. Garner, B. Garner’s Modern American Usage. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2003, p. 442.

Bonnie Mills

Bonnie Mills has been a copyeditor since 1996.


View 1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Pingback: Best 10 Sentence With For - Edu Learn Tip

Don't Miss

Thrive in the Workplace by Building on These Pillars

By Rachel CookeMarch 27, 2023

Construct a Thriving Employee Experience I use a framework to help companies understand the employee…

Post-Training Soreness: Are You Getting Stronger?

March 24, 2023

Grammar Quirks: Juan Gomez-Jurado on His ‘False Friend’ in Writing

March 22, 2023

Expert Advice on Real Estate Investing and Syndication

March 17, 2023
Stay In Touch
  • opens in a new window Facebook 12K
  • opens in a new window Twitter 25.7K
  • opens in a new window Pinterest 18.5K
  • opens in a new window Instagram 123K
  • opens in a new window YouTube 23K
  • opens in a new window Vimeo 11.2K
Our Picks

Thrive in the Workplace by Building on These Pillars

By Rachel CookeMarch 27, 2023

Post-Training Soreness: Are You Getting Stronger?

By Kevin DonMarch 24, 2023

Grammar Quirks: Juan Gomez-Jurado on His ‘False Friend’ in Writing

By Editor, Grammar GirlMarch 22, 2023
opens in a new window Demo

Subscribe

opens in a new window Bonnie Mills for Apple Podcast Page opens in a new window Bonnie Mills for Spotify Podcast Page opens in a new window Bonnie Mills for Google Podcast Page opens in a new window Bonnie Mills for Sticher Podcast Page

Books

Book Cover for Quick and dirty Tips for Better Writing
opens in a new windowB image for Amazon.com opens in a new windowB image for Barnes and Noble opens in a new windowB image for IndiBOund opens in a new windowB image for  Apple iBookstore opens in a new windowB image for IndiBOund
Ultimate Writing Guide
opens in a new windowU image for Amazon.com opens in a new windowU image for Barnes and Noble opens in a new windowU image for IndiBOund opens in a new windowU image for  Apple iBookstore

Don't miss

Never miss another tip! Join our list to get updates from your favorite hosts delivered straight to your inbox
Sign Up
ABOUT US
logo-img

Whether you want to manage your money better, rock your professional life, stay fit and eat healthy, or discover the keys to better mental health, Quick and Dirty Tips delivers short-form podcasts and articles every week to keep you at the top of your game, usually in ten minutes or less!

Email: contact@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email

QUICK LINKS
  • opens in a new windowHealth & Fitness
  • opens in a new windowHouse & Home
  • opens in a new windowParenting
  • opens in a new windowRelationships
  • opens in a new windowPets
  • opens in a new windowEducation
  • opens in a new windowTech
  • opens in a new windowProductivity
  • opens in a new windowBusiness & Career
  • opens in a new windowMoney & Finance
  • opens in a new windowHow to listen
  • opens in a new windowPrivacy notice
  • opens in a new windowAds & Cookies
  • opens in a new windowTerms of Use
  • opens in a new windowAbout QDT
  • opens in a new windowOur Hosts
OUR PICKS

Thrive in the Workplace by Building on These Pillars

March 27, 2023

Post-Training Soreness: Are You Getting Stronger?

March 24, 2023

Grammar Quirks: Juan Gomez-Jurado on His ‘False Friend’ in Writing

March 22, 2023
opens in a new window Facebook opens in a new window Twitter opens in a new window Instagram
Copyright © 2023 Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC. Quick & Dirty Tips™ and related trademarks appearing on this website are the property of Mignon Fogarty, Inc. and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.