Grammar › Prepositions

Prepositions of cause and effect

450 fill-in-the-gap exercises, 45 tests of ten

They introduce a reason. The catch is that each takes a noun, while because takes a whole clause.

The match was called off the result

because of preposition of cause

the frozen pitch a noun, not a clause

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The rule that governs all of them

A preposition takes a noun. A conjunction takes a clause with its own verb.

because + clause: …because the road was closed.
because of + noun: …because of the closed road.

Everything else on this page follows the same split. Due to, owing to and thanks to are all prepositions, so all three take a noun.

Turning one into the other

Any because clause can become a because of phrase and the other way round:

We stayed in because it was raining. → We stayed in because of the rain.

That is exactly what the exercises test.

thanks to

Means the same as because of, but only for results you are glad about:

Thanks to her advice, we finished on time.

Using it for a disaster sounds sarcastic, which is sometimes the point and usually not what is intended.

due to and owing to

Both are more formal than because of and appear mainly in announcements and writing:

Due to engineering work, this service is canceled.

Some style guides insist due to should only follow the verb be and that owing to is correct elsewhere. In practice the two are used interchangeably.

so introduces the result, not the cause

Watch the direction:

It was raining, so we stayed in. — so introduces what happened. We stayed in because it was raining. — because introduces why.

Only one of the two goes in a sentence. Writing both is a common error.

All forms

Word	Followed by	Example
because	a clause	because the pitch was frozen
because of	a noun	because of the frozen pitch
due to	a noun	due to heavy fog
owing to	a noun	owing to the storm
thanks to	a noun, good result	thanks to your help
so	a clause, the result	It was frozen, so we canceled.

Examples

Taken from the 450 sentences in this drill. The answer is highlighted.

The concert was postponed due to the artist's illness.
The company went bankrupt because of financial mismanagement.
The campaign succeeded thanks to the support of the community.
The child got sick from exposure to the cold.
We said nothing about the mistake out of politeness.
He lost his job as a result of his poor performance.
The ceremony was moved indoors owing to the heavy rain.
He was late for work because his car broke down.
The power outage was caused by a thunderstorm.
She tripped and fell on a loose tile on the floor.
His success can be attributed to hard work and determination.
The children were excited about the news of their vacation.

Mistakes to avoid

Wrong: The flight was delayed because of it was foggy. correct: The flight was delayed because it was foggy.

Because of needs a noun. With a clause, use because.

Wrong: Because of the rain, so we stayed in. correct: Because of the rain, we stayed in.

One connector is enough. Because and so cannot both appear.

Wrong: Thanks to the storm, the ferry sank. correct: Because of the storm, the ferry sank.

Thanks to is for welcome results.

Other forms of Prepositions

Prepositions of Cause and Effect 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten Prepositions of Contrast 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten Prepositions of Manner 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten Prepositions of Place (between, above, below, under, over, inside, outside, behind, in front of) 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten Prepositions of Place (in/on/at) 460 sentences, 46 tests of ten Prepositions of Time (in/on/at) 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten

Mixed practice → Done with this form? Try it among all the others — ten, twenty or thirty sentences from every form at once.