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Conference thebay::joyoflex

Title:The Joy of Lex
Notice:A Notes File even your grammar could love
Moderator:THEBAY::SYSTEM
Created:Fri Feb 28 1986
Last Modified:Mon Jun 02 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1192
Total number of notes:42769

341.0. "therefor(e)" by NATASH::WEIGL (Turboferrets - racing for answers) Wed Apr 01 1987 19:48

    I ran across an interesting thing in Websters Abridged today when
    I challenged the spelling of THEREFORE.  The dictionary shows two:
    
    Therefor - adv., For that, this, or it.
    
    Therefore - adv. & conj., For that reason; consequently; hence.
    
    My question is this:  what's the difference between these?  Can
    you think of legitimate examples for using the first one?
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341.1An explanation thereforSSDEVO::GOLDSTEINWed Apr 01 1987 20:3817
    "Therefor" is archaic and little used today.  It is somewhat like
    other combined words like "henceforward," "therefrom," "hereinafter,"
    etc.  "Therefor" can literally be substituted for "for that," "for
    this," and "for it."  Examples:
    
    	The car stopped in the fast lane; the reason therefor was a
    	broken axle. 
    
    	The consequences therefor are too horrible to contemplate.
    
    The latter sentence means "the consequences _for that_ are too horrible
    to contemplate."  The sentence, "the consequences, therefore, are
    too horrible to contemplate" means something else entirely.  It
    means "Hence, the consequences are too horrible..." or "It follows
    from what was said before, that the consequences..."
    
    Bernie
341.2I was hoping we could recycle this one...GENRAL::MICHAELGreg Michael x2398Tue Apr 07 1987 17:257
    I'll bet with a little effort, we clever computer people could recycle
    this word and maybe even replace *functionality*.
    
    If you wanted to ask why a program existed, you might say, "What
    is it therefor?" We could then specify all the therfor's associated
    with a product......
    
341.3stressMARVIN::KNOWLESPour encourager les auteursTue Jul 21 1987 09:3915
    Like .1 said there's a big difference in meaning.  There's also a
    difference in stress. 'Therefor' - like herein, whereas, thereto and
    many other combinations of a pronoun of place with a preposition - has
    stress on the second syllable, whereas 'therefore' meaning 'for
    that reason' is usually stressed on the first syllable.
    
    A very stilted example, a bit more formal than bernie's:
    
    	A therefore B
    	B.  The reason therefor is A.
    
    I can think of lots of contexts to use 'therefor' in, but none where it
    wouldn't be clearer to use some other form of words. 
    
    bob