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Thu 9 May, 2013 12:19 pm
In older (19th century and earlier) writing I have encountered the phrase "for that" used in much the same way as "because." Does anyone know whether "for that" is a contraction of "for the fact that"? I ask because I would like to be able to use "for that" in a context where it doesn't mean "because" but could mean "for the fact that" -- namely, I wish to contract the equivalent of "You will answer for the fact that you ate the last strawberry" to "You will answer for that you ate the last strawberry." This usage doesn't feel right, but intellectually it makes some sense to me (other options are available but, in the context, a translation which has Biblical resonances and involves inverted word order, they sound less pretty). Thank you!
@Someone1934,
"You will answer for the fact that you ate the last strawberry" is okay. It's not what one would likely say in every day speech, but it's okay here.
"You will answer for that you ate the last strawberry." This would not be a good time to substitute "for that" for "for the fact that". There are probably other times the substitution would work.
I'm not sure I've answered your question. Feel free to try a different way of asking the same thing.
@roger,
Thank you! That was what my instincts were telling me, and it's good to have backup...