Hi all,

I have found a note from a website saying the following

Because v/s. In That: When ETS puts ‘because’ and ‘in that’ in a sentence, more often than not, ‘in that’ would be correct. ‘In that qualifies’ the previous sentence, while ‘because’ is just used to show a simple causal relationship.
Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.


A. because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone

B. because they are composed of tissues like tooth and bone that are

C. because they are composed of tissues, like tooth and bone, tissues

D. in that their composition , tissues such as tooth and bone, is

E. in that they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, tissues


E is the correct answer.


However, in the OG I remember reading that "in that" is a conjunction meaning 'inasmuch as' which is considered stilted and overly formal.

Can someone please give me an incite in this?

Thanks

i found this sentence interesting:
However, in the OG I remember reading that "in that" is a conjunction meaning 'inasmuch as' which is considered stilted and overly formal.

it appears that you're conflating the following 2 ideas:
(1) 'in that' has the same meaning as 'inasmuch as'
(2) 'inasmuch as' is apparently considered stilted/formal by the o.g. people
even if taken together, these 2 statements definitely don't imply that 'in that' is too formal / stilted.

analogy: 'you' means the same as 'thou', which is considered archaic. this of course doesn't mean that 'you' is also archaic.

--

do you understand the difference between 'because' and 'in that'?
'because' is used to state a cause-effect relationship between 2 phenomena.
'in that' is used to circumscribe a statement. if a sentence says 'X is exceptional in that it does Y', then the implication is that doing Y is pretty much the only thing that's exceptional about X.

--

by the way, you mean insight, not incite. (incite is a verb, meaning, roughly, 'to initiate or stir up some sort of bad behavior or undesirable event')

Hey RPurewal

'because Vs in that' is a concept that is also confusing me . I dont exactly understand your explantion.

'circumscribe' is bouncing over my head. Can you please give a more detailed explanation? An example where 'in that' will be appropriate and one in which 'because' will be more appropriate.

I dont see why 'X is exceptional because it does Y' is wrong. Please help!

Thanks in advance!

Thanks again for one more time..

but for this one I have a comment. According to your statement, then does it mean that the below statement is false to say that "in that" is mostly correct?




Also,

What does 'inasmuch as' mean?

i'll try to explain the difference in different words, and then i'll provide two examples using the same adjective.

because is used to state an actual relationship of cause and effect. if you say 'X happened because of Y', you're declaring, essentially, that Y is what set X into motion, or that Y precipitated X.

in that is used to LIMIT or (RE)DEFINE a statement; it's used to say, basically, "the adjective i just wrote is ONLY true in the following way."

illustrations:

1) i'm successful in my career in that i love my work and can set my own hours.
--> 'in that' is more appropriate here, because the author is trying to say ONLY that he loves his work and can set his own hours, and that he is not necessarily 'successful' in any other way. (the LIMITING or REDEFINING phrase 'in that' is especially appropriate here because the author is not writing about qualities stereotypically associated with "success", such as high income.)
--> if the author meant to say that he has achieved a more conventional version of "success" (probably involving money) AS A RESULT of loving his work so much - i.e., he doesn't view having a job he loves itself as success, but, rather, the things he's been able to achieve because he loves his work - then 'because' would make more sense.

2) i'm successful in my career because i work hard and practice relentless self-discipline.
--> 'because' is more appropriate here, because the success is a DIRECT RESULT of the author's hard work and self-discipline. clearly, hard work and self-discipline are not the author's definition of "success", so in that would be inappropriate here.

let me know whether this makes sense. thanks!