Because atau Because of? Connector vs Preposisi

Soalnya kelihatan gampang: blank di awal kalimat, dan pilihannya Because, Because of, Although, Despite. Kamu tahu arti semuanya. Tapi justru di sini banyak orang terpeleset, karena di TOEFL arti saja tidak cukup. Dua kata dengan arti yang sama bisa punya pola yang berbeda.

Bahasa Indonesia tidak membedakan ini. Kita bilang "karena hujan" dan "karena hujan turun" dengan kata yang sama. English membedakannya. Because dipakai untuk "karena hujan turun", sedangkan because of untuk "karena hujan".

Dua jenis kata, dua pola

Connector (kata penghubung, atau conjunction) menyambungkan klausa, yaitu kelompok kata yang punya subjek dan verb sendiri. Preposisi hanya membawa noun, noun phrase, pronoun, atau V-ing (gerund). Preposisi tidak boleh langsung diikuti subjek + verb.

Ada juga kata yang bisa dua-duanya, misalnya before, after, since, until. After the war (preposisi) dan after the war ended (connector) sama-sama benar. Kata-kata ini jarang jadi sumber kesalahan, jadi fokuskan energimu pada pasangan di tabel.

Because vs because of

• check_circleBenar:

  Because the Moon has no atmosphere, its sky looks black even in daytime.

  ada klausa (the Moon has), jadi because

• cancelSalah:

  Because of the Moon has no atmosphere, meteors strike its surface directly.

  ada klausa: because the Moon has

• check_circleBenar:

  Classes were canceled because of the blizzard.

  noun phrase: because of

• cancelSalah:

  Classes were canceled because the blizzard.

  tidak ada verb: because of the blizzard

• check_circleBenar:

  The flight was delayed due to fog.

  due to + noun

Due to punya satu kebiasaan: dia paling nyaman setelah be, seperti The delay was ==due to== fog. Kalau kamu ragu memakai preposisi sebab di awal kalimat, because of selalu aman.

Although vs despite / in spite of

Pasangan ini paling sering muncul. Although dan even though membawa klausa. Despite dan in spite of membawa noun atau V-ing. Ingat juga bentuknya: in spite ==of== selalu pakai of, sedangkan despite tidak pernah pakai of.

• check_circleBenar:

  Although the desert is dry, many plants bloom there each spring.

  although + klausa

• check_circleBenar:

  Despite the dry climate, many plants bloom there each spring.

  despite + noun phrase

• cancelSalah:

  Despite of the dry climate, many plants bloom there.

  despite tanpa of

• cancelSalah:

  In spite the heat, the runners finished the race.

  in spite of the heat

• cancelSalah:

  Despite it was cold, the team continued the survey.

  ada klausa: although it was cold

• check_circleBenar:

  Despite having little money, the inventor built a working prototype.

  preposisi + V-ing

Kalau kamu ingin memakai despite tapi isinya klausa, ada jalan tengahnya: despite ==the fact that== + klausa. Despite the fact that the theory was rejected, it later gained support. Bentuk although the fact that salah, karena although langsung membawa klausa tanpa perantara.

Satu bentuk lagi sering mengecoh: although boleh diikuti adjective saja, sebagai klausa yang dipendekkan. ==Although small==, the island supports many species of birds itu benar, karena maksudnya although it is small. Sebaliknya, despite small salah, karena preposisi butuh noun.

While vs during

While adalah connector: while + subjek + verb, sering dalam bentuk progresif. During adalah preposisi: during + noun, misalnya during the war, during the 1930s, during the experiment. During tidak pernah diikuti klausa.

• check_circleBenar:

  While the astronauts were orbiting the Moon, they photographed its far side.

  while + klausa

• cancelSalah:

  During the astronauts were orbiting the Moon, they took photographs.

  ada klausa: while

• check_circleBenar:

  Many banks failed during the Great Depression.

  during + noun

• cancelSalah:

  Many banks failed while the Great Depression.

  noun phrase: during

So that vs in order to

Keduanya menyatakan tujuan. In order to (atau to saja) langsung diikuti V1. So that diikuti klausa lengkap, biasanya dengan modal can, could, will, would.

• check_circleBenar:

  Farmers rotate crops in order to keep the soil fertile.

  in order to + V1

• check_circleBenar:

  Farmers rotate crops so that the soil can stay fertile.

  so that + subjek + modal + V1

• cancelSalah:

  Farmers rotate crops so that keep the soil fertile.

  so that butuh subjek: so that they keep

• cancelSalah:

  Farmers rotate crops in order keeping the soil fertile.

  in order to keep

Like vs as

Di English tulis formal, like adalah preposisi yang diikuti noun, sedangkan as bisa jadi connector yang diikuti klausa. ==Like== many early poets, she wrote about faith. Bandingkan dengan She wrote about faith, ==as== many early poets did. Kalau ada verb sesudahnya, pakai as.

Bagaimana muncul di TOEFL

• Sentence Completion: blank di awal kalimat dengan pilihan pasangan connector dan preposisi. Baca sisa kalimat sampai koma: ada verb atau tidak?
• Written Expression: connector dan preposisi tertukar (because of the soil was rich, during the glaciers retreated), atau bentuknya cacat (despite of, in spite tanpa of).
• Jebakan gerund: setelah preposisi, verb harus V-ing. Despite have had salah, yang benar despite having had.