Can I start a sentence with Because?

Question

The sentence I have is as follows:
Because of (Company Name)'s work in natural gas and it’s ever vigilant business practices in maintaining the highest level of safety as well as adhering to the strict environmental codes; Fortuna is a company that I would love to work for and be proud of what I do.

Is this sentence grammatically correct?

I also think the first part might be a bit of a run on sentence. Am I right in thinking this?

Answer 1

Let's say you start with a sentence like "I was late for school because the car wouldn't start." It is perfectly legit and grammatically correct to fold it like this: Because the car wouldn't start, I was late for school." Doing this puts the emphasis on the "Because" information instead of the "I was..." information.

Answer 2

I've revised your sentence:

Because of (Company Name)'s work in natural gas and its ever vigilant business practices in maintaining the highest level of safety as well as adhering to the strict environmental codes, Fortuna is a company that I would be proud to work for.

You'll notice that I removed the apostrophe from "it's", replaced the semicolon with a comma, and resolved the faulty parallelism in your sentence.

The sentence is not a run-on, although it is quite long.

In answer to your question, there is a grammar rule that says something like, "Don't start a sentence with 'because'." However, yours is not the type of sentence that this rule is trying to prevent. The rule is trying to prevent sentence fragments like the following:
Because I think so.

I think a much better rule would be "Have exactly one independent clause per sentence." This rule would prevent sentence fragments like the example I just gave, but would allow legitimate sentences that have a 'because' clause connected to an independent clause.
The only exception to this rule would be the semicolon, which is the only punctuation mark that is allowed to connect two independent clauses.

Answer 3

Grammatically, it's fine to start a sentence with "Because" in a construction like this one: "Because...codes" here is a subordinate clause (that is, it couldn't stand on its own as a sentence) that introduces the main part of the sentence (everything after the comma). When teachers warn us against starting sentences with "Because," it's to prevent us from winding up with sentence fragments, which can easily result from punctuating in the wrong place.

For example, suppose I write the following:
"I plan to go shopping for office clothes this weekend. Because I'll be starting a new job on Monday."

That's not grammatical. The second "sentence" here--"Because I'll be starting a new job on Monday"--isn't a complete sentence. It can't stand alone and make sense.

But either of the following are quite correct sentences, because each could stand alone and still make sense:

"I plan to go shopping for office clothes this weekend, because I'll be starting a new job on Monday."
OR
"Because I'll be starting a new job on Monday, I plan to go shopping for office clothes this weekend."

-----------------
I do agree that in your draft sentence, the introductory bit is too long. It's not technically a run-on sentence, but it definitely takes a long time to get to the "real action." Readers could get a bit lost on the way. Here's one suggested rewrite:

"I would be proud to work for Fortuna because it maintains such high safety levels and adheres strictly to environmental codes."

If this is a job applicaiton, it's probably not necessary to remind the reader that the company's business is natural gas. And you can flatter the company without sounding like an ad for it, which is why I'd suggest dropping "ever vigilant business practices." If you do keep that phrase, make sure you use "its" (no apostrophe) to refer to the company: "it's" (with the apostrophe) means either "it is" ("It's a nice day") or "it has" ("It's been nice chatting with you").

Answer 4

Although beginning a sentence with "because" in the manner you propose is correct grammatically, it is not recommended for business writing.

Oh...did I say it was correct grammatically? I just meant the way you used "because," because to use the word "of" after it, not so much.

Also it is not correct to say "...that I would love to work for." It would be more correct to say "for which I would love to work," although because it is a business writing, you may want to switch "love to work" to "enjoy working". Actually, instead of saying "...I would love to work for and be proud of what I do," how about "for which I would be proud to work." Redundancy in business writing = no.

It is also not correct to say "it's" --- the spelling is "its" in its possessive use. (surprising, huh)

Business writing rules are different from strict grammatical rules. Instead of saying "as well as," break the sentence up into two shorter sentences.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

It depends on your teacher.. and since you've asked they are probably picky. You should change the sentence around to say something like Fortuna is a company that I would love to work for and be proud of what I do because of its work in natural gas, vigilant business practices in maintaining high levels of safety, and its adherance to the strict environmental codes.

Answer 6

I would be like to work for Fortuna. The company has a high standard of business practice. The work it does in natural gas and it's vigilant safety and environmental record make it a place I would be proud to work.

Short direct statements

Answer 7

only if you use the "because" as part of a prepositional phrase:
Because of her chronic bad breath, Maria saw her dentist four times each year.
Your sentece technically qualifies, but the prepositional phrase is awkward. It is too long. Split this into 2 sentences for better flow and construction.
Hope this helps :)

Answer 8

I'm not sure if this will help, but here is my idea.

It is my greatest desire to become a part of this outstanding company which maintains the highest standards of safety for both the environment and its employees. As a future employee I would hold fast to the integrity and industriousness of this company and strive to become a beneficial part of its continued growth.

Answer 9

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/86pkt

I agree with Melissa C, she is right and the other guy is a dumbass

Answer 10

Belly Tail is right. The physics of proper writing can be bent but not broke. The prepositional phrase may be acceptable when used in speech, but it is to be avoided when writing. (Get it?-the irony?)