I want to find out if the following two expressions are out of date in modern English world.
I want to find out if the following two expressions are out of date in modern English world:

1. ' We continually wage war on the insects, for they contaminate our food, carry diseases, or devour our crops. '

-- Do people still state a reason by starting with 'for' in a sentence as above? I
saw most of people use ' as ' or simply 'because (of)' in articles or essays.

2. 'For a long time, I watched them scurrying around the base of the trees in bewilderment. '

-- Do people still use 'in bewilderment' in essays nowadays? Is it more commonly to say ' For a long time, I watched them scurrying around the base of the trees with confusion.' or ' For a long time, I watched them scurrying around the base of the trees with bewilderment.'?

Question

I want to find out if the following two expressions are out of date in modern English world.
I want to find out if the following two expressions are out of date in modern English world:

1. ' We continually wage war on the insects, for they contaminate our food, carry diseases, or devour our crops. '

-- Do people still state a reason by starting with 'for' in a sentence as above? I 
saw most of people use ' as ' or simply 'because (of)' in articles or essays.

2. 'For a long time, I watched them scurrying around the base of the trees in bewilderment. '

-- Do people still use 'in bewilderment' in essays nowadays? Is it more commonly to say ' For a long time, I watched them scurrying around the base of the trees with confusion.' or ' For a long time, I watched them scurrying around the base of the trees with bewilderment.'?

Answer

"for" is still acceptable. It just sounds more formal and literary than "because" but there is nothing wrong with using it.  It's uncommon in speech, though.

"bewilderment" is still very much alive and kicking!  "confusion" is more common, in my experience, but "bewilder" and its related words are also common in speech and writing.

Answer

1. As Michael said, The word "for" is used in place of "because", but I discourage it for the reason that "for" more commonly appears as a preposition, and so it might confuse readers temporarily.
2. Both expressions are used, as Michael said, but in your sentences both the expressions "with confusion" and "with bewilderment" are misplaced modifiers. As written, it is not clear which verb they modify. They would be better placed at the beginning of the main clause.

Answers · 4

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