Due to vs. Because of
©Judy Vorfeld
It's easy to mix up usage of "due to" and "because of." Here are some tips to help you remember which is which.
"DUE TO" modifies nouns, but introduces adjective phrases: "Her failure was due to poor study habits."
Explanation: "due to poor study habits" modifies the noun "failure." "Due to" is almost always used with a form of the verb, "be," (is, am, was, are, and were).
"BECAUSE OF" modifies verbs, but introduces adverbial phrases. "She failed because of poor study habits."
Explanation:
"because of poor study habits" modifies the verb "failed."
These days, people sometimes use "due to" after a verb, but when possible, keep "due to" with nouns and "because of" with verbs. Memorize DTN (due to noun) and BOV (because of verb).
If you can't remember, most experts say to use "because of" rather than "due to."
Here are a couple of sites that explain these issues:
University of Houston-Victoria
English Plus
And here's a site that insists it's all relative: Bartelby
Top of Page
|
