2

I want to use the word since as because, but I don't know if I can add the word 'then' after it. For example, is the sentence 'since we have A and B, then there is no need for you to get C' correct? Is the word redundant in this case?

And I would like to say 'since A, and B, blablabla.. In this case A, and B are two reasons, should I add then before blablabla to make it more readable? or is this wrong

  • Using "then" in these cases is fine. It may be unnecessary (optional), but that doesn't make it incorrect. It's a stylistic choice to use the "then." – Nonnal Nov 16 '15 at 20:35
  • @Nonnal: I disagree. Take a cutdown version of OP's example: Since A is true, then B is false, for which the "natural;" order is B is false, since A is true (primary statement followed by "parenthetical" additional text). There is no place to include *then* in the more straightforward version, because it should never have been there anyway. – FumbleFingers Nov 16 '15 at 20:42
  • @FumbleFingers: OP gave two examples: (1) "Since we have A and B, [then] there is..." and (2) "Since A, and B, [then] blah blah." The question is, would it be wrong to include "then" in either of these sentences? If you can form a sentence that conforms to (1) or (2) and where "since" means "because" and where it would be incorrect to use "then," then I will acknowledge the error. But, with respect, I don't see how your example sentences fit into the OP's patterns. – Nonnal Nov 16 '15 at 20:49
  • 1
    The discretionary then is available for precisely the cases where the blablabla goes on so long that the since is no longer within memory range of the conclusion clause. Think of it as a long-distance repeater. – John Lawler Nov 16 '15 at 20:49
  • @JohnLawler I think that your comment applies very well in the case of a protracted "B" clause. "Since A, and [extremely long B], then blah blah..." By the time I got to the end of B, it might lose my literary way without the "then." – Nonnal Nov 16 '15 at 20:51
  • 1
  • @Nonnal that is exactly my situation here. I am writing solutions to mathematics where I need to use conjunctions such as 'since', 'because', and 'as' a lot. In many cases since A, and B are very long; B can be 2 about two lines; my gut tells me if i don't add 'then' to the sentence, the reader would get lost; however, I don't know if adding 'then' is grammatically correct. – Mathemagician Nov 17 '15 at 01:09
  • As noted in my comment above and in the linked question that FumbleFingers found, you are fine to use "then" after "since". – Nonnal Nov 17 '15 at 01:19

0 Answers0