Common Mistakes : Cause

noun

.BAD: The cause why I want to change my job is as follows
.GOOD: The reason why I want to change my job is as follows

.BAD: For this cause the journey took a long time
.GOOD: For this reason the journey took a long time

: cause = an action, event, situation etc that makes something happen
.The cause of the fire is still being investigated
.These outbreaks of violence will continue to occur until the causes have been eliminated

: reason = something that provides an explanation
.I’m sure that they must have good reasons for wanting to live abroad
.The reason why there is only one applicant is that the job wasn’t advertised

.BAD: The police wanted to know the cause for the accident
.GOOD: The police wanted to know the cause of the accident

: reason for sth BUT cause of sth
.The underlying causes of the present dispute date back to 1987

: Note however: cause for concern/alarm/complaint/hope etc
.The new rise in unemployment has given the government cause for concern

.BAD: Smoking is one of the most important causes of lung cancer
.GOOD: Smoking is one of the major causes of lung cancer

(a major/chief/primary cause (NOT important

verb

.BAD: This causes that the children look for affection elsewhere
.GOOD: This causes the children to look for affection elsewhere

: (cause sb to do sth (NOT cause that
.A week-long power failure caused the whole computer network to shut down

.BAD: Acid rain is caused by several reasons
.GOOD: Acid rain has several causes

: Do not use reason after be caused by
.The autopsy showed that her death was caused by liver failure