"That's why" and "That's because"
Jan 13th 2010 01:54
I always get confused when I think of "That's why..." and "That's because..."
"That's why..." sounds natural to me and is easy for me to understand, but "That's because..." is quite confusing for me.
Consider the sentences below.
a) I was so hungry yesterday. That's why I ate the cake you bought.
b) Yesterday I ate the cake you bought. That's because I was so hungry then.
In a), "That" means the fact that I was so hungry yesterday, and "That's why I ate the cake." means "That's the reason why I ate the cake."
I feel something wrong with b), because I don't think we can see the sentence "That's because I was so hungry then." to be the SVC structure.
In a), "That" is "the reason, " and we can see the second sentence in a) as SVC, but in b), "That" is what!?
I cannot really explain why I'm confused (I don't really know, either ><), but if you have any comment or clarification, please let me know.
Thank you.
"That's why..." sounds natural to me and is easy for me to understand, but "That's because..." is quite confusing for me.
Consider the sentences below.
a) I was so hungry yesterday. That's why I ate the cake you bought.
b) Yesterday I ate the cake you bought. That's because I was so hungry then.
In a), "That" means the fact that I was so hungry yesterday, and "That's why I ate the cake." means "That's the reason why I ate the cake."
I feel something wrong with b), because I don't think we can see the sentence "That's because I was so hungry then." to be the SVC structure.
In a), "That" is "the reason, " and we can see the second sentence in a) as SVC, but in b), "That" is what!?
I cannot really explain why I'm confused (I don't really know, either ><), but if you have any comment or clarification, please let me know.
Thank you.
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that's because - you have to state the cause of an action
in your sentences.( used for identifying the reasons)
do you see how they are related above?
a) I was so hungry yesterday (reason). That's why I ate the cake you bought.(effect)
b) Yesterday I ate the cake you bought(effect). That's because I was so hungry then.(cause)
these sentences have the same meaning though.
Yes, I understand the uses of the two phrases, but I still feel something wrong with a sentence that begins with "That's because..."
Anyway, thanks a lot for your comment!