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Cause & Effect Overview

Express cause and effect relationships

Summary of Cause–Effect Words

SO + CLAUSE	SO/SUCH…THAT + CLAUSE
So relates (is complemented by) a clause that expresses an effect (result) for the situation expressed in the main clause. A comma usually separates the clause from the main clause.	So and such are intensifiers placed before other modifiers in order to express a remarkable situation. The situation (the cause clause) is then followed by a that + clause to state an effect of the situation.
So is a connective adverb, also called a coordinating conjunction in other grammar systems.	So and such are degree adverbs (intensifiers) followed by that, a subordinator, and a content clause (also called an adverbial clause, a subordinated clause, or a that-clause).
He saw starving children, so he helped them. [effect/result] He helped, for he knew they could survive. [cause/reason]	He raised so much money that he was able to open a "food bank". He raised such a large amount of money that he was able to open a "food bank". He raised enough money that he was able to open a "food bank".
CAUSE
for (reason or cause) rarely used, very formal	so… (emphasis on cause) such… (emphasis on cause) enough…that sufficiently…that
EFFECT
so (result)	…that (effect) …that (effect)

BECAUSE + CLAUSE	CONSEQUENTLY + CLAUSE
Because, as, since, though, and others are followed by an adjunct clause expressing reason/cause. The cause-clause may be placed before or after the effect-clause.	Consequently and For this reason express a relationship between two clauses. The word(s) transition the reader or listener from the main idea in one clause to the idea in the next clause. The transition is supplemental to the sentence. It is separated by a comma.
Because and others are connective prepositions, also called an adverbial, a subordinating conjunction, or along with its clause is called an adverbial clause.	Consequently is a connective adverb also called a linking adverb, connective adjunct or a conjunctive adverb. For this reason is a supplemental prepositional phrase.
The children survived because they received help. Because they received help, the children survived. The children survived because of the help. (noun phrase)	People helped. Consequently, the children survived. People helped. For this reason, the children survived. People helped; as a consequence, the children survived.

because, since, now that, as, as long as, inasmuch as, because of, due to, owing to, on account of, despite , if only because	For this reason, For all these reasons

so that (purpose-result) in order (purpose-result)	Therefore, Consequently, As a consequence, As a result, Thus

An adjunct is a word or structure that adds extra, non-essential information but is not required by the subject and predicate to complete the meaning of the clause.

A supplemental structure is extra information added on to the clause but not required by the clause.

starving (Adj) – suffering without food; not having food to eat

food bank (N) – a place that gives bags of food to the poor

survive (V) – to continue to live in difficult conditions (accident, war, illness)

Cause-Effect Relationship Terms

CAUSE EFFECT → NO CAUSE-EFFECT
REASON	He's a great chef because he has worked hard and studied with the best master chefs. The opinion or action is a logical response to the assertion or situation in other clause—cause-effect.
CONCESSION	He's a great chef though he occasionally makes a dish that nobody likes. Admitting to something that does not logically fit with the previous statement—an exception. See Concession.
CONTRARY REASONING	He's a great chef though he's never had formal training. The opinion or action is a not a logical or an expected response to the assertion or situation in other clause—no cause-effect. (He's great for some other reason.) See Contrary Reasoning.

CAUSE EFFECT → NO CAUSE-EFFECT

REASON

He's a great chef because he has worked hard and studied with the best master chefs.

The opinion or action is a logical response to the assertion or situation in other clause—cause-effect.

CONCESSION

He's a great chef though he occasionally makes a dish that nobody likes.

Admitting to something that does not logically fit with the previous statement—an exception. See Concession.

CONTRARY REASONING

He's a great chef though he's never had formal training.

The opinion or action is a not a logical or an expected response to the assertion or situation in other clause—no cause-effect. (He's great for some other reason.) See Contrary Reasoning.

reasoning (N) — the process of forming conclusions, inferences or judgments from facts or propositions

Also see The reason is..., The main reason for this is... Causes / is caused by, Results in/ Results from

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Grammar Notes (Advanced)

Traditional and Linguistic Descriptions

Advanced

Traditional vs. Linguistic Description

TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR
SO-CLAUSE
Conjunctions: (and, but, or) "connects words or phrases that have the same grammatical function in a sentence. This use of conjunctions is called 'parallel structure'. " (Azar 16-1, 19-2)
SO…THAT / SUCH…THAT
(no term given) "another way of expressing cause and effect (Azar 19-4) (Most grammarians describe so as an adverb of degree or extent used for emphasis in a clause, which may or may not be followed by a that clause of result. Few discuss the the particular context for using this structure. See So/Such that)
BECAUSE-CLAUSE
Adverb clause (Azar 17–1-2)
CONSEQUENTLY
Transition, conjunctive adverbs (Azar 19–2-3)

LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION
SO-CLAUSE
So "falls at the boundary between coordinators and prepositions" It is marginally a member of the coordinator category, but differs in that it does not always coordinate like structures, it may be combined with another coordinator (and so, and but) (Huddleston 15 §2.11) Subordinator clause of result (Quirk 15.49)
SO…THAT / SUCH…THAT
So is an adverb of degree/extent or manner, such is an adjective, and the content clause (that) has a resultative meaning…" (Huddleston 11 §4.6) Subordinator clause of result (Biber 15.49) So is an extent/degree, circumstance adverbial (Biber 10.2.8.7)
BECAUSE + CLAUSE (REASON)
Preposition with an adjunct (required) reason clause (Huddleston 8 §12.3-4) Subordinators reason clause because, since, for (Quirk 15.49) Circumstance adverbials – reason, subordinators (Biber 10.2.1)
CONSEQUENTLY
Connective adjuncts (Huddleston 8 §19) Conjuncts (Quirk) Linking adverbs (Biber 10.4.1.4) Connecting adverbs (Swan 22.1)

See FANBOYS Grammar Notes.

Resources

Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar. 4th ed., Pearson Education, 2009.
Biber, Douglas, and Stig Johansson, et al. Longman Grammar Of Spoken And Written English. Pearson Education, 1999.
Huddleston, Rodney D., and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge UP, 2002.
Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2005.
Quirk, Randolph and Sidney Greenbaum. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. 7th ed., Longman Group, 1989.

Practice 1

The Freshman Five

Read Context

Why do students who are in their first year of college gain on average five pounds? Recent studies have followed freshman students through their first year in college. In these studies, health professionals measured students' food intake, analyzed their diet, and tracked their physical activity.

A number of things seem to affect student weight gain such as – college meal plans, buffet-style dining, unbalanced food choices, irregular eating habits, increased alcohol consumption, stress, and less exercise. Health professionals are doing their best to educate students to make better choices and to start healthy habits.

are used to – are accustomed to

analyze / analyse (V) – examine the elements or parts in detail

avoid (V) – prevent

balanced meal – includes fruits, vegetables, grain, protein, and dairy myplate.gov

binge (V) – eat or drink a large quantity of food or alcohol, overeat, (e.g., binge eating, binge drinking)

burn calories – use up calories

calorie – a quantity of food capable of producing a certain amount of energy

crave (V) – desire greatly such as sweets or affection

buffet style – self-serve food from tables offering 'all you can eat"

consumption (N) – eating or drinking, intake

easy access (N) – not needing much effort, easy to get.

food intake (N) – amount of food that a person eats

gain (V) – increase

health (N) –the general condition of the body or mind; wellness

health professional (N) – a doctor , scientist or other person who work to advance wellness

meal plan (N) – most students purchase a meal plan with a set number of meals per day

processed (Adj) – food that is changed to last longer on the shelf and be more appealing in the market

skip (V) – not have, omit, miss

Determine which cause or effect connector or expression is needed to complete the sentence.

Select the connector that best completes the sentence.
Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "check" or "check 1-10" button.

students were gaining weight in their first year of college, health professionals decided to study the problem of the "Freshman Five", also called the "Freshman Fifteen"!

Feedback 1

Because

First, they saw that students had easy access to food college meal plans.

Feedback 2

Because

The cafeterias usually offer buffet style food with a wide variety of food, including junk food. students may make less healthy choices.

Feedback 3

Because

students are used to eating balanced meals prepared their parents, they don't know how to balance meals by themselves when they go away to college.

Feedback 4

Because, The reason is

An irregular schedule will often cause a student to skip a meal. Then, the student will binge to satisfy his or her hunger.

Feedback 5

Purpose

Increased alcohol consumption is another problem. there are a lot of calories in a small drink, students don't realize how many calories they are drinking.

Feedback 6

Because

Often students feel they eat a lot of snack food.

Feedback 7

Finally, students get less exercise, they don't burn enough calories.

Feedback 8

Because

Students eat more and exercise less during their first year in college they gain an average of 3.5 – 4 pounds (1.6 – 1.8 k) of weight.

Feedback 9

Because

10.

Health professionals at colleges and universities are helping to educate incoming students they will avoid the "freshman five ".

Feedback 10

Purpose

Holm-Denoma JM, et al. "The 'freshman fifteen' (the 'freshman five' actually): predictors and possible explanations.. NCBI http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18248103
Lloyd-Richardson, Elizabeth E. et al. "A Prospective Study of Weight Gain During the College Freshman and Sophomore Years", NIH, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2696183/

Practice 3

Settling Issues (disagreements)

McD's toys

Read for Errors

McDonald's announced that it will discontinue including toys in its Happy Meals because it wants to focus on its food and not its toys. Because multiple law suits, McDonald's came to this conclusion. Happy Meals were making parents unhappy on account of they are high in fat, calories, salt and sugar. As a result, kids were more attracted to the toys than the food. A group called "Corporate Accountability" also wants McDonald's to retire its clown due to it is directed at getting children to bring their parents into the restaurant and not vice versa.

The group was complaining as a result of McDonald's use of clowns and toys to sell unhealthy food to impressionable children. McDonald's responded saying that its marketing practices are responsible, and that its food is high quality. This is a big issue for lower-income and communities of color for the reason of they "often have limited access to grocery stores and increased access to fast food stores," says the group's spokesperson (speaker). For now, everyone is happy since parents can focus on helping their children make healthy food choices, and because McDonald's can focus on their food rather than law suits.

access (N) — ability to find or use something easily

announce (V) — to officially tell people about something, especially about a plan or a decision

attracted to (expr.) — interested in

clown (N) — someone who wears funny clothes, a red nose, bright make-up on their face, and does silly things to make people laugh ("Ronald McDonald")

community (N) — a neighborhood; the people who live in an area

complain (V) — mention negative or bad parts of something; express unhappiness

corporate accountability (.) — the moral and social responsibility of a business

focus (V) — give special attention to one particular person or thing

impressionable (Adj) — someone who is impressionable is easily influenced, especially because they are young

income (N) — the money a person receives from working

law suit (N) — a problem or complaint that a person or company brings to a court of law to be settled

limited (Adj) — not very great in amount, number, ability; restricted

marketing (N) — the activity of deciding how to advertise a product

multiple (Adj) — several; more than one

retire (N) — stop working (usually after reaching a specific age ~65)

spokesperson (N) — a person who is chosen to speak officially for a group, organization, or government

use (N) — usage

vice versa (N) — the opposite or reverse order stated

Edit the cause-effect connector so that it is used correctly.

Edit the text in the text box
Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "check" or "check 21-26" button.

21.

McDonald's announced that it will discontinue including toys in its "Happy Meals" because it wants to focus on its food and not its toys. Because multiple law suits, McDonald's came to this conclusion.

Edit 21

Feedback 21

Because of / Despite Because of / By

22.

Happy Meals were making parents unhappy on account of they are high in fat, calories, salt and sugar. As a result, kids were more attracted to the toys than the food.

Edit 22

Feedback 22

Because of / Despite And / In addition

23.

A group called "Corporate Accountability" also wants McDonald's to retire its clown due to it is directed at getting children to bring their parents into the restaurant and not vice versa.

Edit 23

Feedback 23

Because of / Despite

24.

Edit 24

Feedback 24

Cause / Effect

25.

This is a big issue for lower-income and communities of color for the reason of they "often have limited access to grocery stores and increased access to fast food stores," says the group's spokesperson (speaker).

Edit 25

Feedback 25

Cause / Effect

26.

For now, everyone is happy since parents can focus on helping their children make healthy food choices, and because McDonald's can focus on their food rather than law suits.

Edit 26

Feedback 26

Katz, Nell. "McDonald's and Toy Lawsuit: Are "Happy Meals" Tricking Kids?" CBS News. Web http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20008571-10391704.html