
Giving Reasons 
Giving Reasons 


1. What you say when giving reasons for something

because conjunction used when giving the reason for something:

 The idea was rejected because it was too expensive.
 They were discriminated against because of their colour.
	Because  many old people are  on  low incomes, they are  often  unable to afford
adequate heating in the winter.

STUDY NOTE: Grammar 
When  writing  essays,  you don't usually use	because  at the  beginning of a  sentence
when you are  referring back to  the previous sentence.  For example, instead of  writing
"Many firms are  building factories there. Because wages are much  lower." it is much
better to write:  Many firms are building factories there because wages are much lower. 
But if the two sentences you want to connect are very long, you can write The reason is
or The reason for this is at the start of a second sentence. 

the reason (for this) is  used  when giving  the reason for  something,  especially
when the explanation is quite long:
 These printers quickly achieved a market share of over 60%. The reason for this  is
that the technology they use is much simpler  and therefore cheaper  and running
costs are lower.

why conjunction used when writing about the reason that causes something to happen:

 No one knows why the dinosaurs died out so suddenly.
 There are many reasons why people are having fewer children.
 Girls mature earlier than boys. This may explain why they perform better at school.

in order to so that someone can do something, or so that something can happen: 

 Many criminals steal in order to get money to buy drugs. (=the reason they steal is so 
that they can buy drugs)


STUDY NOTE: Grammar 
In order to is typically used in formal English. In less formal contexts, you often just use
to, for example: I wanted to go to France to improve my knowledge of the language.

for preposition because of a particular reason:

 Most people go there for sightseeing.
 The names cannot be published for legal reasons.
 The data will be used for research purposes.

through preposition used when explaining why someone succeeded or failed:

 She got the job through hard work. (=because she worked very hard)
 The records were lost, either through carelessness or incompetence.

as a result of used when explaining what made something happen:

 Sea levels are rising as a result of global warming. 
 As a result of his work, illnesses such as tuberculosis can now be treated.

due to / owing to preposition used to give the reason why something has happened:
 She resigned due to ill health.
 The number of songbirds has declined. This is partly due to modern farming methods.
 Owing to lack of public interest, the programme was abandoned.



2. Words meaning reason

reason noun [countable] why something happens or why someone does something: 

 There were two main reasons for his success.
 39% of  workers  gave poor working conditions as a reason for  leaving  their previous 
job.
 The reasons why this happens are as follows.
 The reason that sales have not increased is that we had a very cold summer.
 There are good reasons for believing that the Earth has not increased in size during
the past 500,000 years.

explanation noun [countable] a set of reasons that is intended to help you understand 
why something happens:
 Scientists have offered several possible explanations for these results. 
 No one has ever really	provided  a satisfactory	explanation  of  how children learn
language.


motive	noun  [countable] the  reason that makes someone decide  to  do  something, 
especially something dishonest:
 There may have been a political motive for the killing.
 Some people have questioned the motives behind the decision. 

grounds noun [plural] a reason that makes it right or fair for someone to do something. 
You use grounds especially when saying that it seems justified to think that something is
true, or when an action is justified according to official rules:
 There are strong grounds for believing that what he says is true.
 The latest crime statistics provide some grounds for optimism.
 He was refused permission to stay	on the grounds that he had entered the country
illegally. (=for that reason)
 They recommended joining the EU on purely economic grounds. (=only for economic
reasons)

argument noun  [countable] a reason or set  of reasons that someone  uses to try to
persuade another person to agree with them:
 There are strong environmental arguments for limiting car use.
 One of the main arguments against the death penalty is that an innocent person could
accidentally be executed. 
 I do not agree with the argument that experiments are necessary on live animals.
 There is little evidence to support their argument.
 He was the first person to put forward this argument. (=to suggest this set of reasons)

rationale noun [countable usually singular] a series of reasons that someone uses to
explain why they need to do something in a particular way:
 All organisations need a rationale for dividing up their work.
 In the first part of the book I will attempt to provide a rationale for such an approach. 
 The document outlines the rationale behind the government's economic reforms.

justification noun [uncountable and countable] a reason why you think it is right to do
something, especially something that seems wrong or unfair to other people: 
 The  US government's	main justification for  the war was that they wanted to  bring
democracy to the country.
	There  is,  he  states,	no justification for  killing  another human  being  under any
circumstances. 


basis noun [countable] the main ideas, reasons, arguments etc on which something is 
based:
 There is no scientific basis for such beliefs.
 Piaget provided a theoretical basis for studying children's mental behaviour.
 Newton's work forms the basis of much of modern physics. 



3. A reason that does not seem believable

pretext noun [countable] a false reason that someone gives in order to hide their real 
reason for doing something:
 They used religion as a pretext for their activities.
 People were  sent to prison or labour camps  on the flimsiest of pretexts. (=for 
reasons that seem very unlikely and difficult to believe)
 Police went into the area under the pretext of looking for drug dealers. (=using this as 
a reason)

excuse	noun  [countable]  a reason  that you give to try to  explain  why you did 
something bad, especially one that is not true:
 Poverty should not be seen as an excuse for crime.
 The soldiers' excuse was that they were only obeying orders.
 People are tired of listening to the same old feeble excuses. (=excuses that seem very
weak and not believable)
