How to Talk About Causes and Results in the Past?

Talking about the past is not only about saying what happened. Very often, we also need to explain why something happened and what happened because of it using the Past Perfect Continuous. This is where causes and results language becomes important.

English has many ways to connect past events, from simple words like because and so to more formal phrases such as as a result, due to, and therefore. Choosing the right structure helps your story, explanation, or report sound clearer and more natural.

Using Basic Causes and Results Structure in the Past 

A simple way to describe things that happened in the past is by using cause and result structures. These structures have many applications in day-to-day discussions, emails, essays, reports, and even in the workplace. The basic concept is to establish a relationship between two past events.

Discover how to beautifully connect past events by exploring the Past Perfect Continuous: https://learn.kotoenglish.com/grammar/b2/past-perfect-continuous/

Using “Because” to Explain the Reason

Because is used to introduce the reason behind something. It answers the question why?

For instance, you can say, “I remained at home because it was raining.” The effect is that you remained at home, and the reason behind it is the rain. You can further state, “She missed the meeting because her train was delayed” or “They called off the event because not many people had registered for it.”

In past-tense sentences, the word because will always be followed by a past clause. The effect and the reason could be either before or after each other, and both sentences are grammatically correct:

• I left early because I felt tired.
• Because I felt tired, I left early.

In case the word because comes at the beginning of the sentence, a comma must follow the reason clause.

Using “So” to Show the Result 

So presents the result of a situation. It gives an answer to the question “What happened next?”

For instance, “It rained, so I remained at home.” In this case, the cause is rain, while the result is being at home. One can state the following: “Her train got delayed, so she could not make it to the meeting” or “There were not enough registrations, so they canceled the event.”

The difference between because and so is that the former explains the cause while the latter presents the result.

Compare the following examples:

• I stayed home because I was sick.
• I was sick, so I stayed home.

Both sentences describe the same situation, but the focus is different. The first sentence focuses on the reason. The second sentence focuses on the result. 

Using “That’s Why” in Spoken English 

“That’s why” is widely used in conversational English. This phrase can be used to connect an explanation and the consequence and sounds good in conversation.

In addition, you can say: “The roads were slippery. That’s why the trip was so slow.” As well as, “I did not charge my cell phone. That’s why I could not get in touch with you.” The phrase helps to understand the outcome after you explained the situation to your interlocutor.

That’s why is more informal than therefore and as a result. Thus, that’s why should be used in informal contexts.

Using “Because Of” and “Due To” 

Both “because of” and “due to” are used preceding the noun phrase rather than preceding the entire sentence.

Examples include saying “The flight was cancelled because of the bad weather,” or “The delay was due to the technical problems.” In each of these cases, the cause is mentioned in the form of the noun phrase, that is, bad weather or technical problems, respectively.

An error often made by students is placing the clause after the phrase “because of” or “due to”. For instance, “The flight was cancelled because of the weather was bad” is wrong. Instead, if one wants to use a clause, the word because should be used, such as “The flight was cancelled because the weather was bad.” “Due to” is more formal-sounding than “because of”.

Making Past Cause and Result More Precise 

Having understood the structure, you will be able to improve your English by conveying the sense of time sequence, degree of formality, and degree of connection between the events. It will help when talking about incidents, decisions, changes, business outcomes, events from history, and personal experience.

Using the Past Perfect for Earlier Causes 

Past Perfect can be used when one of the past actions preceded another past action and led to the latter. In some cases, the Past Perfect Continuous can also be useful when the earlier cause was an ongoing activity or situation. 

In the sentence “She was angry since she had failed the exam,” failure occurred earlier than the anger. “They missed the deadline since they had underestimated the workload” – in this case, the underestimation occurred before missing the deadline.

The usage of Past Perfect makes it clear what happened earlier. It is especially effective when the sequence of actions can lead to misunderstanding. The Past Perfect Continuous tense can provide additional emphasis on the duration or ongoing nature of an earlier action that influenced a later result. 

Past Simple may usually be used in informal situations, while Past Perfect makes the sequence of actions more accurate.

Using “As a Result” for Formal Writing 

“As a result” is used to indicate the outcome of a previous scenario. “As a result” is more formal than “so,” and it is usually used in essays, reports, business writing, presentations, and academic English.

For instance, “The company decreased its marketing budget. As a result, sales fell in the following quarter.” This is a more formal way of saying, “The company decreased its marketing budget, so sales fell.”

“As a result of” can be used before a noun phrase: “Sales fell as a result of the reduced marketing budget.” There is a slight change in structure here, so it is important not to confuse the two structures. Use “as a result” before a full clause. Use “as a result of” before a noun/noun phrase.

Using “Therefore” and “Consequently”

“Therefore” and “consequently” are formal transition words used to indicate results logically. These words are very popular in essays, business reports, academic writing, and presentations.

For instance, “The data was not sufficient. Therefore, the analysis was not credible.” It is also possible to say, “The company did not comply with safety requirements. Consequently, the project was delayed.”

“Therefore” and “consequently” are helpful when one wants to sound precise and formal. But these words may be considered too formal for an informal talk. So or that’s why will work better in such cases.

Sounding Natural When Explaining Past Events 

The Advanced level of English is not only about having more connectors. It is also about selecting the structure that suits the situation. There is no single way to say cause and effect in a story, a work-related report, and an academic essay.

Telling Stories with Clear Cause and Effect 

If you decide to narrate a story, the cause-effect structure can be helpful to make it logical. The Past Perfect Continuous is particularly useful when you need to show that an earlier action had been continuing for some time before another past event occurred.

You could say, “I missed the bus because I had left my house late. The following bus was crowded, and I had to wait for another twenty minutes. My phone battery was dead, and I could not notify anyone of my delay. This is why I came after the start of the meeting.”

Such narration will sound authentic because it involves the use of different structures. The Past Perfect Continuous tense can also help provide background by emphasizing the duration of an activity that led to a later result. 

It is not necessary to use the same connector all the time. Any story should alternate between causes, effects, background information, and the final explanation.

The use of the combination of because, so, had + past participle, and that’s why would make such an explanation easier.

Explaining Problems and Mistakes Politely 

Tone should be considered when referring to problems in the past. The direct language used when connecting cause and effect can sometimes be interpreted as an accusation.

For instance, “You didn’t send the file on time; therefore, the client complained” is grammatically correct, but this can come off as harsh in a business setting. Instead, “The file wasn’t delivered on time, and therefore, the client complained” would be considered softer.

In the latter example, the focus is on the problem rather than the individual. An alternative to consider is, “The file being late contributed to the client’s complaint.”

This alternative is handy when writing reports, presenting at a meeting, giving feedback, writing e-mails, and communicating professionally in general.

Choosing the Right Level of Formality 

Cause and effect connectors vary from one setting to another. In spoken English, it is always advisable to use simple connectors. Phrases such as “I was tired, so I went home” or “She missed the train because she woke up late” will work best in this case.

When writing in an official context, one might choose to use more sophisticated phrases such as “The cause of the delay was staff shortages,” “The effect of the decision was increased cost,” or “Poor communication was responsible for the misunderstanding.”

The best choice of a cause and effect phrase largely depends on the audience. Therefore might be inappropriate when used in a casual conversation, whereas it might be too simplistic when used in an essay.

Conclusion 

The use of causes and effects in the past makes your explanations more natural and clear. Such simple words as because, so, and that’s why are useful for informal speech, while due to, as a result, therefore, and consequently add more formality to your language.

In advanced English, the Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous will make it possible to demonstrate the order in which past events took place, the length of a process, and the leading to an effect. The use of verbs like led to, caused, resulted in, contributed to, and triggered will give you more possibilities to talk about past events in a different way.

Your task is not to use the most sophisticated expressions. Your task is to express the relationship between events. When you can explain the reason for something and its effect, you will be able to talk more easily and naturally.