A Cause, animate or inanimate, causes a process, the Effect, to begin. The murder of Sergei Kirov set off a chain of events that culminated in the Great Terror of the 1930s. Space email sparked astronaut jealousy. A crime surge in a former coal town prompted a crackdown on illegal immigrants.
<def-root>A <fen>Cause</fen>, animate or inanimate, causes a process, the <fen>Effect</fen>, to begin. <ex><fex name="Cause">The murder of Sergei Kirov</fex> <t>set off</t> <fex name="Effect">a chain of events that culminated in the Great Terror of the 1930s</fex>.</ex> <ex><fex name="Cause">Ressam</fex> planned to <t>set</t> <fex name="Effect">a bomb</fex> <t>off</t> at the Los Angeles International Airport.</ex> <ex><fex name="Cause">Space email</fex> <t>sparked</t> <fex name="Effect">astronaut jealousy</fex>.</ex> <ex><fex name="Cause">A crime surge in a former coal town</fex> <t>prompted</t> <fex name="Effect">a crackdown on illegal immigrants</fex></ex>.</def-root>
A Cause, animate or inanimate, causes a process, the Effect, to begin. The murder of Sergei Kirov set off a chain of events that culminated in the Great Terror of the 1930s. Ressam planned to set a bomb off at the Los Angeles International Airport. Space email sparked astronaut jealousy. A crime surge in a former coal town prompted a crackdown on illegal immigrants.