If you always trip up on the spelling of ‘because’ …
Why would you spell because wrongly? Well, just because …
A reader just wrote in with a mnemonic for the word ‘because’.
Big Elephant Could Afford Understanding Small Elephant
I wouldn’t really think a mnemonic would be necessary to remember the spelling of that word, but maybe he (or she?) doesn’t have English as their first language. Or maybe it’s just one of those words that trips them up now and again.
I remember, at school, I had trouble with a really small word for a while. It was a common word, and very short, and it used to drive me mad that it gave me trouble, because my spelling was usually okay, but it did. The word was ‘with’! Can you believe it? I mean, how can you misspell that? It seems ridiculous now, and it did then actually, but it kept giving me trouble, time and again (well, obviously, I suppose, since the word is used all the time). I can’t think how I managed it, but I suppose I messed up the letters to spell something like whit, or whith, or something like that. And no matter how much I looked at it, it never seemed to look right, even when I spelt it correctly, so I used to have to go back and check everything in case I’d spelt it wrong again. Crazy!
So yep, I do know how one particular spelling can cause problems, and from personal experience. Actually, I remember another lad used to have a similar spelling problem, with just one word – he used to always spell ‘palm’ as plam. He just couldn’t get it right! It would have to be pointed out to him again and again (and I can remember a teacher eagerly obliging, in a typically unhelpful way!). 🙁
Anyway, for whatever reason, this reader uses a mnemonic to remember the spelling of because. And if you need one, that’s fine. Use whatever works for you.
It got me thinking … I tried to think of a better one … and I came up with this one (which is very similar, but works better for me):
Big Elephants Can Always Use Some Exercise!
It brings to mind images of a few fat elephants puffing and panting in an elephants-only gym, trying to shed some of those excess pounds. Can you just seem them in their groovy sweat bands and shorts? (or maybe that should be trunks? – ooh, sorry ’bout that!). Maybe they’re on the treadmills, plodding on and on … or hula-hooping … or maybe one’s lying in the sauna after his workout, being massaged by a big orang-utan with a towel round his waist …
Whatever it brings to mind, and I’m sure it’ll be something different for you, I think that’s probably a better mnemonic. But, as always, it’s all about what works for you.
And thank you to whoever it was who sent that one in. You didn’t leave a name, so I can’t thank you by name, but thanks anyway. Always glad to hear from readers.
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