This is something I really didn’t learn until years into my writing, but now I’m keenly aware of it. Because of the way we often talk, we make this mistake in our writing regarding reason and why. The word reason means an explanation. The word why is defined in Merriam-Webster’s as “cause, reason, or purpose.” Maybe you already see where I’m going with this.
If you say, “The reason why I ate that . . . ” you are saying, “The reason reason I ate that.” Now, the word because means . . . you guessed it: why. So now, if you say, “The reason why I ate that is because . . .” you are saying, “The reason reason I ate that is the reason . . .” (or something close to that). Most Word options can be set to detect the reason-why combination and it will flag it, but try to watch out for it. That sentence, by the way, should just be “The reason I ate that sandwich is I was hungry.” Or you could use two sentences: “Why did I eat that sandwich? Because I was hungry.”
“The word reason means an explanation. The word why is defined in Merriam-Webster’s as “cause, reason, or purpose.” Maybe you already see where I’m going with this.”
I make this mistake sometimes but now that I am experienced as a writer I know that I usually like the tell others the specific reason why. I love to give examples too. I do see this happen in writing today but who knows with teachers such as yourself and an author we all learn from you as well. Thank you for sharing this as it is important for all of us to improve our writing style.
Another option: I ate the sandwich because I was hungry. Or (less elegant), Because I was hungry, I ate the sandwich. I find that I can nearly always replace “The reason why is because” with a short, direct sentence. I’m a wordiness freak. If I can slash it, I do.
I think an even simpler way to say your example is: “I ate that sandwich because I was hungry.” Leave the words “reason” or “why” out of it entirely. Sometimes less is more. 😉
In Spanish the word, por qué Means both “why” and “because.”
If you use the word por qué with a questioning voice you are asking, why? If you say the word in a declarative manner you are answering and saying “because.”
Scroll down:
por qué
why, wherefore
interjection
¿por qué razón
why
porqé
reason, ratio, rate, cause, argument, gist
cause, case, reason
I usually pride myself on my grammatical skills, but you’ve taught me something I never knew. Thank you. I’m glad I read it