In one of his most well-known novels, “The Notebook,” Nicolas Sparks writes, “The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected.”
It is truly heartbreaking: heartbreaking to see how atrocious the grammar is.
The reason I read “The Notebook” is because I was drawn to its cover, which has the love of my life on it. The reason I spotted the grammatical error in this sentence is because I was drilled about these errors as a young junior preparing for her SATs. The reason I am writing about this error is because I hear it almost once a day, from my roommates, from my professors or even from my fellow copy editors.
Sound funny?
The reason the sentences may sound weird is that, by definition, reason means a cause or an explanation. They may sound odd because when we combine the two phrases “the reason” and “is because,” we create redundancy.
Therefore, if I were to meet the love of my life, I would say, “the reason it hurts so much to separate is that our souls are connected.”
Comment Policy
Comments should remain on topic, concerning the article or blog post to which they are connected. Brevity is encouraged. Posting under a pseudonym is discouraged, but permitted. The Daily Cal encourages readers to voice their opinions respectfully in regard to the readers, writers and contributors of The Daily Californian. Comments are not pre-moderated, but may be removed if deemed to be in violation of this policy. Click here to read the full comment policy.
Great article!
My pet peeve is that too, though sometimes I hear even more bungled grammar like “The reason why is because…” That’s much worse!