Usage and Grammar

Q. I have an ongoing discussion with an author I edit. She’ll often begin a sentence with being that, and I change it to because, depending, of course, on the context. She feels I’m wrong to substitute because for being that. What do you say?

A. Being that is considered dialectal rather than standard English. In a novel it would be OK, especially in dialogue, but in formal contexts many readers will regard it as ungrammatical. You can check a dictionary for advice on usages like this. At Merriam-Webster.com, you can read about being that under being (conjunction).

[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]