Due to Vs Because of

[namurad]

Chapter 6 Parallelism -

Because of his intolerant attitude, that politician always seems to be attacking the poor.

Shouldn't the sentence start with "Due to" instead of "Because of"?

"Due to" is used to describe a noun whereas "Because of" is used to describe a verb phrase. Here "attitude" is being described.

[Vjn]

My small rule for the usage of 'due to'
I use 'caused by' to replace the 'due to' and verify whether the sentence makes any sense.
Caused by his intolerant ...does not make good sense does it.

[rfernandez]

Because of his intolerant attitude, that politician always seems to be attacking the poor.

Shouldn't the sentence start with "Due to" instead of "Because of"?

"Due to" is used to describe a noun whereas "Because of" is used to describe a verb phrase. Here "attitude" is being described.

Actually, "because of" modifies the verb "seems." Why does the politician seem to be attacking the poor? Because of his intolerant attitude. So, you're right that "because of" modifies verbs, and that's exactly what it's doing here.

"Due to" does modify nouns, but it's typically used after the verb "to be."
For example, "The team's win today was due to better conditioning."


Rey

[mygmat800]

thanks Rey :)

[StaceyKoprince]

Agreed - nice explanation. :)

[sangeethmani]

I have a small doubt here.. Isnt the creation on Because of .., that create a sentence fragment with no main clause. Could you please explain?

please help as I am really confused with this.. Because of is a phrase and what follows that is a clause.. Is that why this sentence is correct?

[tim]

I hate to have to tell you this, but your post is so riddled with grammatical and punctuation errors that it is impossible to tell what you are asking. Can you try again, and be sure to proofread your post before sending it?

[as2764]

Actually, "because of" modifies the verb "seems." Why does the politician seem to be attacking the poor? Because of his intolerant attitude. So, you're right that "because of" modifies verbs, and that's exactly what it's doing here.

"Due to" does modify nouns, but it's typically used after the verb "to be."
For example, "The team's win today was due to better conditioning."


Rey

[/quote]

expanding on Rey's idea...

'because of' answers WHY questions:

sample 1-'Because of his intolerant attitude, that politician always seems to be attacking the poor.'
Why does the politician seem to be attacking the poor?
>> because of his intolerant attitude

sample 2-'The number of acres destroyed by wildfires, which have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, has increased ....'
Why have the wildfires become an ongoing threat?
>> because of drought and booming population density


'due to' answers WHAT questions:

sample 1-'The team's win today was due to better conditioning'
What was the cause of the team's win today?
OR
What was the team's win today due to?
>> better conditioning (noun)

Ashish

[ChrisB]

Ashish,

Great explanation and I agree completely!

Thanks,
Chris

[rohansharmaster]

Dear Friends,

one tip that will be useful to people like me,who have struggled to understand the distinction:

Due To:This phrase modifies adjectives/adjectival phrases.
for example : His failure is due to his laziness.

Because of : This phrase modifies the verb.
for example : He failed because of his laziness.

Cheers,
Rohan

[tim]

thanks!

[ningli_21]

Dear Friends,

one tip that will be useful to people like me,who have struggled to understand the distinction:

Due To:This phrase modifies adjectives/adjectival phrases.
for example : His failure is due to his laziness.

Because of : This phrase modifies the verb.
for example : He failed because of his laziness.

Cheers,
Rohan

I actually have a concern about this rule when applied to a MAGMAT verbal question:

The number of acres destroyed by wildfires, which have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, has increased dramatically over the past several years, prompting major concern among local politicians.


Should the underlined section be 'due to' or 'because of' ? drought and booming population density are noun and adjectives so shouldn't it be 'due to' instead 'because of'?

Please advise. Thanks

[as2764]

I actually have a concern about this rule when applied to a MAGMAT verbal question:

The number of acres destroyed by wildfires, which have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, has increased dramatically over the past several years, prompting major concern among local politicians.


Should the underlined section be 'due to' or 'because of' ? drought and booming population density are noun and adjectives so shouldn't it be 'due to' instead 'because of'?

Please advise. Thanks

it should be "because of." we need a modifier for the effect of the cause, which is the beginning of the sentence. and the beginning of the sentence is an action/event. to my explanation few posts above, MGMAT instructors also agreed to this. "The wildfires have become an ongoing threat" is describing an action/event; something has happened "because of" drought and booming population density. Had it been, "The ongoing threat of wildfires is ______ drought and booming population density," then "due to" would be an appropriate "fill in the blank," since the sentence begins with a noun, "ongoing threat," to be modified. HTH

[jnelson0612]

I agree with Ashish!

[as2764]

thanks, Jamie. it's always good to have your perspective!