TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Because v As From:Beverly Parks <bparks -at- HUACHUCA-EMH1 -dot- ARMY -dot- MIL> Date:Fri, 23 Dec 1994 07:58:20 MST
> Gwen Gall <ggall -at- CA -dot- ORACLE -dot- COM> wrote:
> And would anyone care to throw in the use of "as" as synonymous with
> "because"? I have heard virulent opponents of this use, but it sound perfectly
> right to me. Is there a rule I don't know about?
> As in:
> "As we have not yet implemented the code, we cannot confirm your bug
> report."
One of my reference books says this about using "as":
"The best writing avoids *as* in the sense of 'because' to
prevent the reader from stumbling, for example, in the sentence
'He couldn't hear the ambulance siren as he was listening to the
car radio.' The *as* phrase could mean 'because' he was
listening or 'during the time' he was listening, depending on
the context."
Beverly Parks
bparks -at- huachuca-emh1 -dot- army -dot- mil