Connectors and an introduction to complex meaning

About Standards

Different types of meaning

Cause and effect

A common use of connectors is to show that one thing is the 'reason' or 'cause' of another.

He tapped his own life force because he wanted me dead.

The Woman Who Rides Like a ManTamora PierceSource

Wanting the main character dead was the reason or cause for the shaman tapping his own life force.

The swans chased you because they could see your sandwiches.

She couldn't escape, as the guards outside her cell were being unreasonably vigilant.

Your turn

What about this next snippet?

He could poke it from his side so it would fall out on the other side.

Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of DelawareM.T. AndersonSource

The key falling out on the other side is the 'effect' or 'result' of poking it.

Notice how the different connectors 'because' and 'so' both show a causal relationship, but they give the cause and effect in different orders.

Which is best? Effect-Cause, or Cause-Effect?

The sun was angled directly in the cabby's face so they couldn't see the turn-off.

Riggy's phone was completely dead, therefore he would have stayed at the hostel.

Your turn

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