Because science! Notes on a variable conjunction
-
Alexander Bergs
Abstract
The American Dialect Society (ADS) named because Word of the Year 2013 as this “very old word […] exploded with new grammatical possibilities”. What they referred to was the fact that in Present-day English, because is not necessarily followed by of or a full clause, as in (1) and (2), respectively, but shows a surprisingly large variety of different complements, as in (3)-(5).
Abstract
The American Dialect Society (ADS) named because Word of the Year 2013 as this “very old word […] exploded with new grammatical possibilities”. What they referred to was the fact that in Present-day English, because is not necessarily followed by of or a full clause, as in (1) and (2), respectively, but shows a surprisingly large variety of different complements, as in (3)-(5).
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
- Subordination, or the permanent allure of the “adjacent possible” 1
-
Part I: Diachronic perspectives on subordination
- From flying Sancho to swooning Altisidora: The changing use of premodifying present participles in three English translations of Cervantes’ Don Quijote 25
- Because science! Notes on a variable conjunction 43
- That-clauses as complements of verbs or nouns 61
- Semantic roles as a factor affecting complement choice: a case study with data from COHA 85
- Expanding the type you can’t help laughing 103
- -Ing clauses in spoken English: structure, usage and recent change 129
- Resourceful ways of recruiting members: The origin and development of Mental zero-Secondary Predicate Constructions 155
- The rise of long catenative constructions in Modern English: new sub-schemas and new stylistic options 185
-
Part II: Subordination in Present-day Englishes
- Catenative get in World Englishes 211
- Adverbial subordination across variety types: A synchronic analysis of the syntax and semantics of since- and while-clauses in ENL, ESL, and EFL 235
- Whatever the specific circumstances, …: A Construction Grammar perspective of wh-ever clauses in English 263
- A sociolinguistic study of relativizers in spoken Philippines English 285
- Subject index 309
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
- Subordination, or the permanent allure of the “adjacent possible” 1
-
Part I: Diachronic perspectives on subordination
- From flying Sancho to swooning Altisidora: The changing use of premodifying present participles in three English translations of Cervantes’ Don Quijote 25
- Because science! Notes on a variable conjunction 43
- That-clauses as complements of verbs or nouns 61
- Semantic roles as a factor affecting complement choice: a case study with data from COHA 85
- Expanding the type you can’t help laughing 103
- -Ing clauses in spoken English: structure, usage and recent change 129
- Resourceful ways of recruiting members: The origin and development of Mental zero-Secondary Predicate Constructions 155
- The rise of long catenative constructions in Modern English: new sub-schemas and new stylistic options 185
-
Part II: Subordination in Present-day Englishes
- Catenative get in World Englishes 211
- Adverbial subordination across variety types: A synchronic analysis of the syntax and semantics of since- and while-clauses in ENL, ESL, and EFL 235
- Whatever the specific circumstances, …: A Construction Grammar perspective of wh-ever clauses in English 263
- A sociolinguistic study of relativizers in spoken Philippines English 285
- Subject index 309
