diff --git a/.htaccess b/.htaccess
index e59cd99a512efb19ff4763e1ef01aaf3b1d4e82f..fd091b174e7d8535615366936ee1f186bddda454 100644
--- a/.htaccess
+++ b/.htaccess
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ DirectoryIndex index.php index.html index.htm
   # above.
   #
   # NOTE: This only works when mod_rewrite is loaded. Without mod_rewrite, it is
-  # not possible to block access to entire directories from .htaccess, because
+  # not possible to block access to entire directories from .htaccess because
   # <DirectoryMatch> is not allowed here.
   #
   # If you do not have mod_rewrite installed, you should remove these
diff --git a/UPGRADE.txt b/UPGRADE.txt
index a729b0b918829c629672dc4aed7d3bd2e426005c..dd104f757bcfb916ea64502cfa8aa2c27d096a3c 100644
--- a/UPGRADE.txt
+++ b/UPGRADE.txt
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ following the instructions in the INTRODUCTION section at the top of this file:
    how to update your custom modules, and http://drupal.org/update/theme for
    custom themes.
 
-   You may decide at this point that you cannot upgrade your site, because
+   You may decide at this point that you cannot upgrade your site because
    needed modules or themes are not ready for Drupal 8
 
 2. Update to the latest available version of Drupal 7.x (if your current version
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ following the instructions in the INTRODUCTION section at the top of this file:
 
 6. Go to Administer > Site building > Modules. Disable all modules that are not
    listed under "Core - required" or "Core - optional". It is possible that some
-   modules cannot be disabled, because others depend on them. Repeat this step
+   modules cannot be disabled because others depend on them. Repeat this step
    until all non-core modules are disabled.
 
    If you know that you will not re-enable some modules for Drupal 8.x and you
diff --git a/includes/file.inc b/includes/file.inc
index bc7ce782a3ee596c971d72c33f01bbb2d0845198..d8dc3cd1d1b567bd910acbcd7241db8f7be6550a 100644
--- a/includes/file.inc
+++ b/includes/file.inc
@@ -757,12 +757,12 @@ function file_usage_delete(stdClass $file, $module, $type = NULL, $id = NULL, $c
 function file_copy(stdClass $source, $destination = NULL, $replace = FILE_EXISTS_RENAME) {
   if (!file_valid_uri($destination)) {
     if (($realpath = drupal_realpath($source->uri)) !== FALSE) {
-      watchdog('file', 'File %file (%realpath) could not be copied, because the destination %destination is invalid. This is often caused by improper use of file_copy() or a missing stream wrapper.', array('%file' => $source->uri, '%realpath' => $realpath, '%destination' => $destination));
+      watchdog('file', 'File %file (%realpath) could not be copied because the destination %destination is invalid. This is often caused by improper use of file_copy() or a missing stream wrapper.', array('%file' => $source->uri, '%realpath' => $realpath, '%destination' => $destination));
     }
     else {
-      watchdog('file', 'File %file could not be copied, because the destination %destination is invalid. This is often caused by improper use of file_copy() or a missing stream wrapper.', array('%file' => $source->uri, '%destination' => $destination));
+      watchdog('file', 'File %file could not be copied because the destination %destination is invalid. This is often caused by improper use of file_copy() or a missing stream wrapper.', array('%file' => $source->uri, '%destination' => $destination));
     }
-    drupal_set_message(t('The specified file %file could not be copied, because the destination is invalid. More information is available in the system log.', array('%file' => $source->uri)), 'error');
+    drupal_set_message(t('The specified file %file could not be copied because the destination is invalid. More information is available in the system log.', array('%file' => $source->uri)), 'error');
     return FALSE;
   }
 
@@ -855,7 +855,7 @@ function file_unmanaged_copy($source, $destination = NULL, $replace = FILE_EXIST
   // Assert that the source file actually exists.
   if (!file_exists($source)) {
     // @todo Replace drupal_set_message() calls with exceptions instead.
-    drupal_set_message(t('The specified file %file could not be copied, because no file by that name exists. Please check that you supplied the correct filename.', array('%file' => $original_source)), 'error');
+    drupal_set_message(t('The specified file %file could not be copied because no file by that name exists. Please check that you supplied the correct filename.', array('%file' => $original_source)), 'error');
     if (($realpath = drupal_realpath($original_source)) !== FALSE) {
       watchdog('file', 'File %file (%realpath) could not be copied because it does not exist.', array('%file' => $original_source, '%realpath' => $realpath));
     }
@@ -881,8 +881,8 @@ function file_unmanaged_copy($source, $destination = NULL, $replace = FILE_EXIST
     $dirname = drupal_dirname($destination);
     if (!file_prepare_directory($dirname)) {
       // The destination is not valid.
-      watchdog('file', 'File %file could not be copied, because the destination directory %destination is not configured correctly.', array('%file' => $original_source, '%destination' => $dirname));
-      drupal_set_message(t('The specified file %file could not be copied, because the destination directory is not properly configured. This may be caused by a problem with file or directory permissions. More information is available in the system log.', array('%file' => $original_source)), 'error');
+      watchdog('file', 'File %file could not be copied because the destination directory %destination is not configured correctly.', array('%file' => $original_source, '%destination' => $dirname));
+      drupal_set_message(t('The specified file %file could not be copied because the destination directory is not properly configured. This may be caused by a problem with file or directory permissions. More information is available in the system log.', array('%file' => $original_source)), 'error');
       return FALSE;
     }
   }
@@ -999,12 +999,12 @@ function file_destination($destination, $replace) {
 function file_move(stdClass $source, $destination = NULL, $replace = FILE_EXISTS_RENAME) {
   if (!file_valid_uri($destination)) {
     if (($realpath = drupal_realpath($source->uri)) !== FALSE) {
-      watchdog('file', 'File %file (%realpath) could not be moved, because the destination %destination is invalid. This may be caused by improper use of file_move() or a missing stream wrapper.', array('%file' => $source->uri, '%realpath' => $realpath, '%destination' => $destination));
+      watchdog('file', 'File %file (%realpath) could not be moved because the destination %destination is invalid. This may be caused by improper use of file_move() or a missing stream wrapper.', array('%file' => $source->uri, '%realpath' => $realpath, '%destination' => $destination));
     }
     else {
-      watchdog('file', 'File %file could not be moved, because the destination %destination is invalid. This may be caused by improper use of file_move() or a missing stream wrapper.', array('%file' => $source->uri, '%destination' => $destination));
+      watchdog('file', 'File %file could not be moved because the destination %destination is invalid. This may be caused by improper use of file_move() or a missing stream wrapper.', array('%file' => $source->uri, '%destination' => $destination));
     }
-    drupal_set_message(t('The specified file %file could not be moved, because the destination is invalid. More information is available in the system log.', array('%file' => $source->uri)), 'error');
+    drupal_set_message(t('The specified file %file could not be moved because the destination is invalid. More information is available in the system log.', array('%file' => $source->uri)), 'error');
     return FALSE;
   }
 
@@ -1235,7 +1235,7 @@ function file_delete(stdClass $file, $force = FALSE) {
     else {
       watchdog('file', 'File %file could not be deleted because it is not a valid URI. This may be caused by improper use of file_delete() or a missing stream wrapper.', array('%file' => $file->uri));
     }
-    drupal_set_message(t('The specified file %file could not be deleted, because it is not a valid URI. More information is available in the system log.', array('%file' => $file->uri)), 'error');
+    drupal_set_message(t('The specified file %file could not be deleted because it is not a valid URI. More information is available in the system log.', array('%file' => $file->uri)), 'error');
     return FALSE;
   }
 
@@ -1288,7 +1288,7 @@ function file_unmanaged_delete($path) {
   // Return TRUE for non-existent file, but log that nothing was actually
   // deleted, as the current state is the intended result.
   if (!file_exists($path)) {
-    watchdog('file', 'The file %path was not deleted, because it does not exist.', array('%path' => $path), WATCHDOG_NOTICE);
+    watchdog('file', 'The file %path was not deleted because it does not exist.', array('%path' => $path), WATCHDOG_NOTICE);
     return TRUE;
   }
   // We cannot handle anything other than files and directories. Log an error
@@ -1418,12 +1418,12 @@ function file_save_upload($source, $validators = array(), $destination = FALSE,
   switch ($_FILES['files']['error'][$source]) {
     case UPLOAD_ERR_INI_SIZE:
     case UPLOAD_ERR_FORM_SIZE:
-      drupal_set_message(t('The file %file could not be saved, because it exceeds %maxsize, the maximum allowed size for uploads.', array('%file' => $_FILES['files']['name'][$source], '%maxsize' => format_size(file_upload_max_size()))), 'error');
+      drupal_set_message(t('The file %file could not be saved because it exceeds %maxsize, the maximum allowed size for uploads.', array('%file' => $_FILES['files']['name'][$source], '%maxsize' => format_size(file_upload_max_size()))), 'error');
       return FALSE;
 
     case UPLOAD_ERR_PARTIAL:
     case UPLOAD_ERR_NO_FILE:
-      drupal_set_message(t('The file %file could not be saved, because the upload did not complete.', array('%file' => $_FILES['files']['name'][$source])), 'error');
+      drupal_set_message(t('The file %file could not be saved because the upload did not complete.', array('%file' => $_FILES['files']['name'][$source])), 'error');
       return FALSE;
 
     case UPLOAD_ERR_OK:
@@ -1499,7 +1499,7 @@ function file_save_upload($source, $validators = array(), $destination = FALSE,
   // Assert that the destination contains a valid stream.
   $destination_scheme = file_uri_scheme($destination);
   if (!$destination_scheme || !file_stream_wrapper_valid_scheme($destination_scheme)) {
-    drupal_set_message(t('The file could not be uploaded, because the destination %destination is invalid.', array('%destination' => $destination)), 'error');
+    drupal_set_message(t('The file could not be uploaded because the destination %destination is invalid.', array('%destination' => $destination)), 'error');
     return FALSE;
   }
 
@@ -1832,7 +1832,7 @@ function file_save_data($data, $destination = NULL, $replace = FILE_EXISTS_RENAM
   }
   if (!file_valid_uri($destination)) {
     watchdog('file', 'The data could not be saved because the destination %destination is invalid. This may be caused by improper use of file_save_data() or a missing stream wrapper.', array('%destination' => $destination));
-    drupal_set_message(t('The data could not be saved, because the destination is invalid. More information is available in the system log.'), 'error');
+    drupal_set_message(t('The data could not be saved because the destination is invalid. More information is available in the system log.'), 'error');
     return FALSE;
   }
 
diff --git a/includes/gettext.inc b/includes/gettext.inc
index fa9952b74f90c10e4757f903030a233af79f8a64..155d0d4d30347f2a393e00c5ae2994fbaa7ee063 100644
--- a/includes/gettext.inc
+++ b/includes/gettext.inc
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ function _locale_import_read_po($op, $file, $mode = NULL, $lang = NULL) {
   // The file will get closed by PHP on returning from this function.
   $fd = fopen($file->uri, 'rb');
   if (!$fd) {
-    _locale_import_message('The translation import failed, because the file %filename could not be read.', $file);
+    _locale_import_message('The translation import failed because the file %filename could not be read.', $file);
     return FALSE;
   }
 
diff --git a/includes/locale.inc b/includes/locale.inc
index 2da67c88856403ee4a2992adf7dfa687d4e5b698..971431933cbc987562593eab8538d8098b195546 100644
--- a/includes/locale.inc
+++ b/includes/locale.inc
@@ -710,7 +710,7 @@ function _locale_rebuild_js($langcode = NULL) {
       watchdog('locale', 'Created JavaScript translation file for the language %language.', array('%language' => t($language->name)));
       return TRUE;
     case 'deleted':
-      watchdog('locale', 'Removed JavaScript translation file for the language %language, because no translations currently exist for that language.', array('%language' => t($language->name)));
+      watchdog('locale', 'Removed JavaScript translation file for the language %language because no translations currently exist for that language.', array('%language' => t($language->name)));
       return TRUE;
     case 'error':
       watchdog('locale', 'An error occurred during creation of the JavaScript translation file for the language %language.', array('%language' => t($language->name)), WATCHDOG_ERROR);
diff --git a/modules/aggregator/aggregator.fetcher.inc b/modules/aggregator/aggregator.fetcher.inc
index 0f728779864f9c28111dff7f2bbd48c5ad3abca6..831ea78d27f96ae7e6a54ea620ed881d35a5eaad 100644
--- a/modules/aggregator/aggregator.fetcher.inc
+++ b/modules/aggregator/aggregator.fetcher.inc
@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@ function aggregator_aggregator_fetch($feed) {
       $feed->http_headers = $result->headers;
       break;
     default:
-      watchdog('aggregator', 'The feed from %site seems to be broken, due to "%error".', array('%site' => $feed->title, '%error' => $result->code . ' ' . $result->error), WATCHDOG_WARNING);
-      drupal_set_message(t('The feed from %site seems to be broken, because of error "%error".', array('%site' => $feed->title, '%error' => $result->code . ' ' . $result->error)));
+      watchdog('aggregator', 'The feed from %site seems to be broken due to "%error".', array('%site' => $feed->title, '%error' => $result->code . ' ' . $result->error), WATCHDOG_WARNING);
+      drupal_set_message(t('The feed from %site seems to be broken because of error "%error".', array('%site' => $feed->title, '%error' => $result->code . ' ' . $result->error)));
   }
 
   return $feed->source_string === FALSE ? FALSE : TRUE;
diff --git a/modules/aggregator/aggregator.parser.inc b/modules/aggregator/aggregator.parser.inc
index cffd1c3aa49a2a5dc4815e682c7b2b79dc6ab35a..98157783597831d2ca7adbc0fd9db33569a3612b 100644
--- a/modules/aggregator/aggregator.parser.inc
+++ b/modules/aggregator/aggregator.parser.inc
@@ -85,8 +85,8 @@ function aggregator_parse_feed(&$data, $feed) {
   xml_set_character_data_handler($xml_parser, 'aggregator_element_data');
 
   if (!xml_parse($xml_parser, $data, 1)) {
-    watchdog('aggregator', 'The feed from %site seems to be broken, due to an error "%error" on line %line.', array('%site' => $feed->title, '%error' => xml_error_string(xml_get_error_code($xml_parser)), '%line' => xml_get_current_line_number($xml_parser)), WATCHDOG_WARNING);
-    drupal_set_message(t('The feed from %site seems to be broken, because of error "%error" on line %line.', array('%site' => $feed->title, '%error' => xml_error_string(xml_get_error_code($xml_parser)), '%line' => xml_get_current_line_number($xml_parser))), 'error');
+    watchdog('aggregator', 'The feed from %site seems to be broken due to an error "%error" on line %line.', array('%site' => $feed->title, '%error' => xml_error_string(xml_get_error_code($xml_parser)), '%line' => xml_get_current_line_number($xml_parser)), WATCHDOG_WARNING);
+    drupal_set_message(t('The feed from %site seems to be broken because of error "%error" on line %line.', array('%site' => $feed->title, '%error' => xml_error_string(xml_get_error_code($xml_parser)), '%line' => xml_get_current_line_number($xml_parser))), 'error');
     return FALSE;
   }
   xml_parser_free($xml_parser);
diff --git a/modules/simpletest/tests/form_test.module b/modules/simpletest/tests/form_test.module
index f08778a36b294c0b9f87c8a73fac9dc7def99a32..36a66484511ae7538804358ca72faec3b2204210 100644
--- a/modules/simpletest/tests/form_test.module
+++ b/modules/simpletest/tests/form_test.module
@@ -920,13 +920,13 @@ function form_test_select($form, &$form_state) {
   $form['no_default_optional'] = $base + array(
     '#title' => 'No #default_value, not #required',
     '#required' => FALSE,
-    '#description' => 'Should result in "one", because it is not required and there is no #empty_value requested, so default browser behavior of preselecting first option is in effect.',
+    '#description' => 'Should result in "one" because it is not required and there is no #empty_value requested, so default browser behavior of preselecting first option is in effect.',
   );
   $form['no_default_optional_empty_value'] = $base + array(
     '#title' => 'No #default_value, not #required, #empty_value empty string',
     '#empty_value' => '',
     '#required' => FALSE,
-    '#description' => 'Should result in an empty string (due to #empty_value), because it is optional.',
+    '#description' => 'Should result in an empty string (due to #empty_value) because it is optional.',
   );
 
   $form['no_default_empty_option'] = $base + array(
@@ -937,7 +937,7 @@ function form_test_select($form, &$form_state) {
   $form['no_default_empty_option_optional'] = $base + array(
     '#title' => 'No #default_value, not #required, #empty_option',
     '#empty_option' => '- Dismiss -',
-    '#description' => 'Should result in an empty string (default of #empty_value), because it is optional.',
+    '#description' => 'Should result in an empty string (default of #empty_value) because it is optional.',
   );
 
   $form['no_default_empty_value'] = $base + array(
@@ -956,7 +956,7 @@ function form_test_select($form, &$form_state) {
     '#title' => 'No #default_value, not #required, #empty_value 0',
     '#required' => FALSE,
     '#empty_value' => 0,
-    '#description' => 'Should result in 0, because it is optional.',
+    '#description' => 'Should result in 0 because it is optional.',
   );
 
   $form['multiple'] = $base + array(
diff --git a/modules/system/system.module b/modules/system/system.module
index b11e77e297c0574337aae3dbc68eef78473e5e5f..0ef688e4a69c56272101b8c0ca400575023641a6 100644
--- a/modules/system/system.module
+++ b/modules/system/system.module
@@ -127,13 +127,13 @@ function system_help($path, $arg) {
     case 'admin/config/system/actions':
     case 'admin/config/system/actions/manage':
       $output = '';
-      $output .= '<p>' . t('There are two types of actions: simple and advanced. Simple actions do not require any additional configuration, and are listed here automatically. Advanced actions need to be created and configured before they can be used, because they have options that need to be specified; for example, sending an e-mail to a specified address, or unpublishing content containing certain words. To create an advanced action, select the action from the drop-down list in the advanced action section below and click the <em>Create</em> button.') . '</p>';
+      $output .= '<p>' . t('There are two types of actions: simple and advanced. Simple actions do not require any additional configuration and are listed here automatically. Advanced actions need to be created and configured before they can be used because they have options that need to be specified; for example, sending an e-mail to a specified address or unpublishing content containing certain words. To create an advanced action, select the action from the drop-down list in the advanced action section below and click the <em>Create</em> button.') . '</p>';
       if (module_exists('trigger')) {
         $output .= '<p>' . t('You may proceed to the <a href="@url">Triggers</a> page to assign these actions to system events.', array('@url' => url('admin/structure/trigger'))) . '</p>';
       }
       return $output;
     case 'admin/config/system/actions/configure':
-      return t('An advanced action offers additional configuration options which may be filled out below. Changing the <em>Description</em> field is recommended, in order to better identify the precise action taking place. This description will be displayed in modules such as the Trigger module when assigning actions to system events, so it is best if it is as descriptive as possible (for example, "Send e-mail to Moderation Team" rather than simply "Send e-mail").');
+      return t('An advanced action offers additional configuration options which may be filled out below. Changing the <em>Description</em> field is recommended in order to better identify the precise action taking place. This description will be displayed in modules such as the Trigger module when assigning actions to system events, so it is best if it is as descriptive as possible (for example, "Send e-mail to Moderation Team" rather than simply "Send e-mail").');
     case 'admin/config/people/ip-blocking':
       return '<p>' . t('IP addresses listed here are blocked from your site. Blocked addresses are completely forbidden from accessing the site and instead see a brief message explaining the situation.') . '</p>';
     case 'admin/reports/status':
@@ -2999,7 +2999,7 @@ function system_cron() {
         }
       }
       else {
-        watchdog('file system', 'Did not delete temporary file "%path" during garbage collection, because it is in use by the following modules: %modules.', array('%path' => $file->uri, '%modules' => implode(', ', array_keys($references))), WATCHDOG_INFO);
+        watchdog('file system', 'Did not delete temporary file "%path" during garbage collection because it is in use by the following modules: %modules.', array('%path' => $file->uri, '%modules' => implode(', ', array_keys($references))), WATCHDOG_INFO);
       }
     }
   }