March 21st, 2010:

In the latest article on Myths We Learn in Grade-School English, I attempted to bust the myth—spread by many a well meaning grade-school English teacher—that we should not begin sentences with the word, because.

This discussion applies to other words that are very similar to because. Because belongs to a very useful group of words called relative adverbs. There is another group of words that are almost identical in function, called relative pronouns. As their names imply, relative adverbs and relative pronouns are words that transform otherwise freestanding, independent sentences into relative clauses (also called subordinate clauses or dependent clauses).

As an educator who seeks to demystify the arts of writing, the last thing I want to do is to clutter your head with yet more terms and grammar jargon. Avoiding conventional jargon often requires that I make up my own simplified, common-sense language for grammatical and stylistic practices. So, for simplicity’s sake (and for the sake of your sanity, dear reader), I am going to group relative adverbs together with relative pronouns. As per their function, I will call such words relative clause starters (Get it? Relative clause starters: words that start relative clauses. Complicated stuff, huh?)

Here are some relative clause starters:

Because

Since

Although

Which

While

When

As

What do I mean when I say that these words transform sentences into relative clauses? And what, for that matter, are relative clauses?

An example will serve best. Notice that the sentence below expresses a complete, stand-alone idea:

Billy worked hard to write his Disney World essay.

That sentence stands alone. We can read this isolated sentence, and come away with a sense of completion. Now, let’s take that sentence and add a relative clause starter to the beginning of it:

Although Billy worked hard to write his Disney World essay.

Now, that doesn’t sound right, does it? It sounds incomplete, and it leaves the reader waiting for more—namely, for a completion. That word, although, has made what was once a complete sentence into a relative clause—that is, a clause that gains completion relative to some other sentence. (These are also called dependent clauses, since they are grammatically dependent on other clauses. You can even label them both ways, by calling them relative dependent clauses.)

To create a relative clause, all you need to do is to place a relative clause starter at the beginning of an otherwise complete sentence, as in the example above.

Now, let’s complete the sentence by adding a complete sentence (or independent clause) after the relative clause:

Although Billy worked hard to write his Disney World essay, he earned a D grade.

Let’s play with it a bit by inverting the two clauses:

Billy earned a D grade, although he worked hard to write his Disney World essay.

While I did need to invert the name, Billy, and the pronoun, he, notice that the inversion was otherwise word-for-word. I simply took the two clauses and swapped them out. But are these two sentence orders different?

Look at the first version—where although begins the sentence. When you read that word, do you know something of what is to come in the second part of the sentence? Do you have a sense of contradiction—of a but—there? The relative adverb although expresses that idea. It says, “The opposite of what you think would be the case is going to happen to little Billy.” We know, after reading only that dependent clause, that Billy’s efforts did not pay off as fully as he would have liked. This word then, when used at the beginning of a sentence, creates suspense within the reader. It makes the reader want to reach the second part of the sentence (the independent clause) to find out poor little Billy’s fate. Although readers know that Billy’s results were not good, they wonder how badly Billy has done. Did he earn a C? A D? An F?

Want to find out? “Press on, dear reader, if you want to satisfy your curiosity,” the sentence playfully teases. In this sense, beginning a sentence with a relative clause tempts readers to continue, giving them just enough of the story to catch their attention, and ensuring that they will complete the sentence. (And that’s a good effect to achieve.) The alternate version, where the relative clause comes second, lets the cat out of the bag at the beginning. To avoid such boring statements, writers often begin sentences with the relative clause, and save the independent clause completion for the end.

It’s the same with because. When you begin a sentence with because, it sparks suspense in the reader’s mind. It makes the reader wonder, for a moment, what the outcome will be. Consider the following two sentences and how they affect readers:

Because he had a teacher who challenged him in childhood, Bill grew into an effective writer. (Relative Dependent Clause + Independent Clause)

Bill grew into an effective writer because he had a teacher who challenged him in childhood. (Independent Clause + Relative Dependent Clause)

Purely in terms of grammar and clarity, both of these are fine sentences, but I prefer the first sentence for its style. It keeps my reader hooked. Sure, there are cases when I do not want to create suspense in my reader, and in such cases, I might choose the second form. Or, I might choose to invert the sentence structure in cases where the suspense is found, not in discovering the outcome, but in uncovering the cause. Here is such an example:

Actor John Soandso died in his condo because he suffered a fatal drug overdose.

Upon hearing that John Soandso has died, readers immediately want to know why. Was he murdered? If so, who did it? His brother? His wife? His mistress? Or, was his untimely death due purely to natural causes? If so, was foul play suspected? Did he commit suicide? If so, why on earth would he end his own life? The second part of the sentence gives the reason—in this case, the cause of the suspense. In such cases, I save the because for last.

At the end of the day, there is no universally superior order for your clause structures. The best way to order your sentences depends upon the content and its intended effect on the reader. These decisions are always a matter of case-by-case consideration. Both of these forms are at your disposal; just make sure to use them accordingly.

Here are more examples. Notice how each of the two sentences below uses since differently:

Since he never revisited it in his adulthood, Bill tends to idealize Disney World.

Since his one childhood visit there, Bill has not had the opportunity to return to Disney World.

Consider the two ways I used since in the sentences above. The first sentence uses since to express cause and effect, while the second sentence uses it to express a notion of elapsed time. A very similar word is while: it can be used to express simultaneity (that is, when two things occur at the same time), or it can express contradiction (like although). The two sentences below show those applications of while:

While I shower in the morning, my coffee brews in the kitchen. (simultaneity)

While grade-school writing myths were once good, we should unlearn them by adulthood. (contradiction)

If you find yourself using but or although a bit too often, consider setting up some sentences with while. This will lend diversity and variety to your prose, while putting a slightly different spin on the way you express contradictory notions within sentences.

Relative Clause Words vs. Coordinating Conjunctions

Recalling the article on coordinating conjunctions, attentive readers may have noticed that we now have two ways to combine sentences:

1. Relative Clause Starters
2. Coordinating Conjunctions

And, yes, there are even more ways to combine sentences, but these two are the two most important forms. Two additional forms are conjunctive adverbs (words like however, therefore, thus, hence, etc.) and sentence-combining punctuation (especially semicolons and colons). I think conjunctive adverbs sound a bit stodgy and formal, so I reserve them for loaded sentences that express heavy, serious content. Sentence-combining punctuation like semicolons should be reserved for expressing unspoken connections. (One of my previous articles, entitled “Fixing the Comma Splice,” explores these sentence-combining methods in detail.)

Some especially attentive readers may have noticed that some coordinating conjunctions correspond in essential meaning to some relative clause starters. For example, the relative clause starter although means much the same thing as the conjunction but. Similarly, the coordinating conjunction for expresses a cause or reason in much the same way that the relative clause starter because does. With such corresponding functions in mind, you might view these words according to the following table:

Coordinating Conjunction                  Relative Clause Starter(s)

but                                                     although, though, while, whereas

for                                                      because, since

so                                                       then

and                                                     while, then, as (depends on how and is used)

So, if they often fulfill the same purpose, what is the difference—other than variety—between coordinating conjunctions and relative clause starters?

Well, a relative clause starter is part of the clause that it introduces, whereas a coordinating conjunction sits in the middle of two clauses it combines without being part of either one.

Confusing? Some examples will serve best. Consider the two sentences below. They are identical, with the exception that one uses the coordinating conjunction, but, to show contradiction, while the other uses the relative clause starter, although.

Relative clauses are fairly simple, although they have their finer points.

Relative clauses are fairly simple, but they have their finer points.

Now, you might think that but and although are interchangeable in the sentences above—and to some degree they are, so long as the sentences occur in the order above. But what happens if I invert the order of each sentence? Let’s find out:

Although they have their finer points, relative clauses are fairly simple. (This works fine.)

But they have their finer points, relative clauses are fairly simple. (Ugh . . . not so fine.)

Why does one inversion work, while the other does not? Simple: the relative clause starter, although, is a part of the clause in which it appears, while the coordinating conjunction, but, is separate from the clauses it combines. If I were to invert that second sentence successfully, the but would need to remain in the middle of the two clauses. The word, although, on the other hand, travels with the clause in which it appears.

How, then, do we invert a sentence structure involving a coordinating conjunction like but? Simple: Just swap out the two independent clauses, while leaving the coordinating conjunction in the center. Still a bit confusing? No problem, dear reader; I’ll show you how it works.

Let’s begin with the original coordinating conjunction example:

Relative clauses are fairly simple, but they have their finer points.

Now here it is, inverted. Notice that but stays in the center of the two clauses:

They have their finer points, but relative clauses are fairly simple.

And, yes, I need to swap out the nouns and pronouns to make this sentence just right:

Relative clauses have their finer points, but they are fairly simple. (That’s it!)

Here is a structural way of looking at these sentences. Pay attention to how brackets separate the clauses and other parts of the sentence. When the writer inverts the sentence structures, each bracketed section moves (or doesn’t move) as a unit.

First, let’s invert the sentence with the relative clause starter, although:

[Relative clauses are fairly simple] , [although they have their finer points].

When inverted, it becomes . . .

[Although they have their finer points] , [relative clauses are fairly simple].

Now, let’s invert the sentence with the coordinating conjunction:

[Relative clauses are fairly simple] [, but] [they have their finer points].

When inverted, it becomes . . .

[They have their finer points] [, but] [relative clauses are fairly simple].

And here it is with the noun and pronoun adjusted for readability:

[Relative clauses have their finer points] [,but] [they are fairly simple].

Since a relative clause starter (like although) is an inseparable part of the relative clause in which it appears, that clause cannot stand alone. Its meaning and completion are relative to (and dependent on) the independent clause. (That’s why we call them relative dependent clauses.) Without the presence of an independent clause, the relative dependent clause is left hanging—which leaves the reader on a linguistic bridge to nowhere. (And, no, Alaskans don’t write relative-clause fragments any more than those of us in the Lower 48.)

Clauses and the Three Sentence Types

You may remember from past English courses that sentences fall into one of three categories: (1) simple, (2) compound, and (3) complex. These sentence types have to do with clause combos, like the ones we explored in the examples above. The first example above, where one clause is dependent on the other is a complex sentence. It’s called complex because it is made up of two different types of clauses (1) an independent clause and (2) a dependent relative clause. The sentence involving the coordinating conjunction but is what we in the English business call a compound sentence: a sentence made up of two equal independent clauses. Here’s the rule of thumb: Relative clause starters appear in complex sentences, while coordinating conjunctions appear in compound sentences.

As its name implies, a simple sentence is the most straightforward form of all: a single freestanding independent clause.

Here are examples of each:

I enjoy writing about language. (Simple)

[Independent Clause] = Simple Sentence

Little Billy is working hard, but his progress is slow. (Compound)

[Independent Clause] + [Conjunction] + [Independent Clause] = Compound Sentence

While absolutes work for children, set-in-stone rules often hinder adults. (Complex)

[Relative Dependent Clause] + [Independent Clause] = Complex Sentence

Or, we can have a complex sentence with the independent clause first, followed by the relative dependent clause:

Write for your readers, because they are the ones who matter most. (Complex)

[Independent Clause] + [Relative Dependent Clause] = Complex Sentence

See how that works?

Next up: Myth #4

That’s it for the myth that you shouldn’t start sentences with because. Next up is a myth I see spread not only in grade-school English, but also in college-level courses:

Myth #4: “Do not use the personal pronoun you in serious writing.”

Want to see this myth busted? Want to know if there is any truth to it? If so, I suggest clicking the link below to read my next article:

• Myths We Learn in Grade-School English: Never Use the Pronoun “You” in Serious Writing

Christopher Altman, a community-college composition specialist, is passionate about bringing the art of effective writing to average, everyday Americans. He has published work in the field of medieval literature, and has authored a book on advertising language entitled, Telling the Truth to Deceive: How Advertisers Manipulate the English Language. Mr. Altman is an assistant professor of English at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, New York.