Page 51 - English Vocabulary In Use upper intermediet and advance

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Cause, reason, purpose and result

Cause and reason

You probably know how to use words like because, since and as to refer to the cause of
or reason for something. Here are some other ways of connecting clauses to express
causes and reasons. Note how verbs and nouns can do the same job as conjunctions.
Look at the picture of an accident, on the right. Here are several ways of talking about it.
Owing to the icy conditions, the two lorries collided.
The collision was due to the icy conditions. b*4
The collision was caused by ice on the road. ICE
The cause of the collision was ice on the road.
Here are some other 'cause' words and typical contexts they are used in.
The rise in prices sparked off a lot of political protest. [often used for very strong,
perhaps violent, reactions to events]
The President's statement gave rise to / provoked / generated a lot of criticism. [slightly
less strong than spark off]
The new law has brought about / led to great changes in education. [often used for
political/social change]
This problem stems from the inflation of recent years. [explaining the direct origins of
events and states]
The court-case arose out of allegations made in a newspaper. [the allegations started the
process that led to the court-case]

Reasons for and purposes of doing things

Her reason for not going with us was that she had no money. or The reason she didn't go
with us was that ... [less formal]
I wonder what his otives were in sending that letter? [purpose]
*'/
I wonder what prorn@ed him to send that letter? [reasonkause]
She wrote to the press with the aim of exposing the scandal. [purpose]
I've invited you here with a view to resolving our differences. [sounds a bit more
indirect than with the aim of]
He refused to answer on the grounds that his lawyer wasn't there. [reason]
The purpose of her visit was to inspect the equipment.
Results

He did no work. As a result / As a consequence / Consequently, he failed his exams.
The result/consequence of all these changes is that no-one is happy any more. [The
examples with consequence/consequently sound more formal than result]
His remarks resulted in everyone getting angry. [as a verb + in]
The events had an outcome that no-one could have predicted. [result of a process or
events, or of meetings, discussions, etc.]
The upshot of all these problems was that we had to start again. [less formal than
outcome]
When the election results were announced, chaos ensued. [formal]

English Vocabulary in Use