AIRMEN’S JOURNAL
PILOT’S TALK
← Level A lessonsMOUNT ETNA · LEVEL A · UNIT 4

Because and So: Giving Simple Reasons

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Words from the text: because of, instead, available, dangerous, extra, volcano, airport, flight, ash, airspace, passenger, aircraft

A Because gives a reason. It joins two simple sentences into one. The reason comes right after because.

The airport closed because the ash was dangerous.

Airlines diverted their flights because Catania was not available.

Because вводит причину. После because всегда идёт целое предложение (подлежащее + сказуемое), а не просто слово.

B So gives a result. First we say the reason, then so, then the result.

The volcano was active, so the airport closed.

Catania was not available, so passengers needed extra transport.

So вводит следствие (результат). Схема простая: причина, so + результат. Перед so обычно ставится запятая.

C Because of also gives a reason, but after it we use a noun, not a sentence. Instead means 'in place of this' — it shows a different action.

Flights were canceled because of the volcano.

Planes could not land in Catania. They landed in Palermo instead.

Volcanic ash can damage aircraft engines, so pilots avoid it.

Because of + существительное (не предложение!). Instead значит «вместо этого» и показывает замену действия.

Exercises

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4.1 Join the two sentences with because. Put the reason after because.

Example: Flights diverted. Catania was not available. → Flights diverted because Catania was not available.

  1. The airport stopped all flights. The ash cloud was too dangerous.
  2. Aeroitalia changed its flight to Comiso. Catania was not available.
  3. KM Malta Airlines canceled two flights. There was a volcano eruption.
  4. Some passengers needed extra transport. Their flights diverted to Palermo.
  5. The Delta flight diverted to Rome. Catania airport was closed.
  6. Pilots must be careful near Etna. Volcanic ash can damage aircraft engines.
Answers

For open questions, these are model answers. Other answers may also be correct.

  1. The airport stopped all flights because the ash cloud was too dangerous.
  2. Aeroitalia changed its flight to Comiso because Catania was not available.
  3. KM Malta Airlines canceled two flights because there was a volcano eruption.
  4. Some passengers needed extra transport because their flights diverted to Palermo.
  5. The Delta flight diverted to Rome because Catania airport was closed.
  6. Pilots must be careful near Etna because volcanic ash can damage aircraft engines.

4.2 Join the two sentences with so. Put the result after so.

Example: The volcano was active. The airport closed. → The volcano was active, so the airport closed.

  1. The ash cloud was dangerous. SAC stopped all flights.
  2. Catania was not available. Airlines diverted their flights.
  3. The airspace sectors were closed. Pilots could not fly over Etna.
  4. The Brussels flight was canceled. 140 passengers had problems.
  5. Palermo airport was busy. Some passengers went to Catania by bus.
  6. There was a red VONA warning. The situation was dangerous for aircraft.
Answers

For open questions, these are model answers. Other answers may also be correct.

  1. The ash cloud was dangerous, so SAC stopped all flights.
  2. Catania was not available, so airlines diverted their flights.
  3. The airspace sectors were closed, so pilots could not fly over Etna.
  4. The Brussels flight was canceled, so 140 passengers had problems.
  5. Palermo airport was busy, so some passengers went to Catania by bus.
  6. There was a red VONA warning, so the situation was dangerous for aircraft.

4.3 Complete each sentence. Choose the correct word: because, so, because of, instead, available, dangerous, or extra.

Example: Delta's flight diverted to Rome ______ Catania was closed. → because

  1. The ash cloud was dangerous, the airport closed.
  2. Airlines diverted their flights Catania was not available.
  3. Flights were canceled the volcanic ash.
  4. Catania was not , so airlines diverted their flights.
  5. Some passengers could not fly to Catania, so they flew to Rome .
  6. Passengers needed buses to get from Palermo to Catania.
  7. The volcano was active, Catania stopped all arrivals and departures.
  8. Volcanic ash is very for aircraft engines.
Answers

For open questions, these are model answers. Other answers may also be correct.

  1. so
  2. because
  3. because of
  4. available
  5. instead
  6. extra
  7. so
  8. dangerous

4.4 Complete the sentences with your own ideas about Mount Etna.

Example: The airspace was closed, so ______. → pilots could not fly over Etna.

  1. Flights were canceled because .
  2. The airport closed, so .
  3. Catania was not available, so .
  4. Passengers needed extra transport because .
  5. Volcanic ash is dangerous because .
  6. Some airlines used other airports instead because .
Answers

For open questions, these are model answers. Other answers may also be correct.

  1. the volcano was active again.
  2. all flights stopped.
  3. planes diverted to Palermo.
  4. their flight diverted to another airport.
  5. it can damage aircraft engines.
  6. Catania airport was closed.