Therefore can i

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Choose 'leave formatting as it is' if you would like us to maintain the current formatting in your document. Viewed k times. I was tired so I fell asleep. I was tired therefore I fell asleep. The dictionary says I can, but it would seem more suitable to say: I was tired and therefore I fell asleep.

Improve this question. Mari-Lou A If you are trying to convince someone with arguments, you would use "therefore"; in the sleep example, "so" fits better. Note that there should at least be a comma before "therefore". You may wish to correct the spelling of the word "interchangeably" in your title. Actually, in the sleep example, I would skip the "therefore" entirely and just use "and". But then maybe I'm just tired As the answerers say, these words are certainly used interchangeably in many contexts.

However, there are subtle shadings in their original meanings. Show 1 more comment. When we do decide to use therefore in place of regular conjunction, we get run-on sentences. Using therefore introduces an independent clause. See the example below:. Incorrect: Most of the dogs were toilet-trained, therefore they were allowed in the house. This sentence can be fixed in a few different ways. The first option is to place therefore at the start of a second sentence making sure there is a comma after it.

Correct: Most of the dogs were toilet-trained. Therefore, they were allowed in the house. If you are still not convinced about using therefore at the start of the sentence, you can use a semicolon and keep the sentence as one:. Correct: Most of the dogs were toilet-trained; therefore, they were allowed in the house. The final option is to actually use a conjunction to link the two independent clauses in this fashion:. Correct: Most of the dogs were toilet-trained, and therefore they were allowed in the house.

I need a babysitter, I am not going. You cannot use commas around therefore here. You need two separate sentences, a semicolon, or the addition of a conjunction. By the way, many people make a similar mistake with the word then. Then is an adverb. It tells when. It is NOT a conjunction and cannot connect. Buy my books on Amazon! Thank you for this very informative lesson. I did not know you could put commas around Therefore and however in certain situations. This is why I like Grammar Girl.

I am not Grammar Girl. I am Grammar Diva. However, thanks for the comments! Grammar Girl Mignon Fogerty is pretty awesome, though! This reverses Descartes famous quote, as part of the introduction to Objectivist philosophy. Apparently, these should have used a semicolon, as the two concepts are expressed as complete sentences. Properly punctuated are:. Pete — Always love your comments.