The Reason Is That
Why you should use "the reason is that" instead of "the reason is because"This is an entry on my list of Common Errors in English Usage. Visit the main page for direct links to additional entries.
The expression “the reason…is/was because” is quite commonly used by native English speakers, but it should be avoided in favor of “the reason…is/was that.” The word because essentially means “for the reason that.” Therefore, “the reason…is because” is redundant:
The reason I went was because I wanted to see the opening band = the reason I went was for the reason that I wanted to see the opening band (redundant)
the reason I went was that I wanted to see the opening band (simple and logical)
Related Resources
Common Errors in English Usage: Errors in diction and idiom commonly made by native speakers of English
List of Common Errors in English Usage (PDF): Printable version of the complete list
Common Grammar Errors: A list of common errors in grammar (topics like subject-verb agreement and parallelism) as distinct from usage
List of Common Errors in English Usage: PDF version
© 2006, 2008, and 2019 C. Brantley Collins, Jr.