Grammar / Linking words - Because v Because of

B ecause v Because of

Because + clause (subject and verb)

Because of + noun

Examples:

		Clause (subject + verb)
He did not attend the lecture	because	he was sick.
		he felt sick.
		he didn’t feel well.

		Noun
He did not attend the lecture	because of	sickness.
		feeling1 sick
		the fact that he felt sick.

Change the sentences using the word in the brackets

1. The share price dropped because there was a recession. (Because of)

2. He failed the assignment because he plagiarised from Wikipedia. (Because of)

3. The car was damaged because of the storm (Because)

4. The laptop didn’t work because someone dropped it. (Because of)

5. He was tired because he spent all night on his assignment. (Because of)

Other similar linking words to Because and Because of

Because	Because of
As	Due to
Since	On account of
	Owing to

Change the sentence using the word in brackets

1. Her writing improved because she used correct linking words. (Due to)

2. Immigration has increased on account of the rise in allocation. (Since)

3. There are many problems with obesity as people eat too much fast food. (Owing to)

Possible Answers

1. The share price dropped because of the recession.

because of the fact there was a recession.

2. He failed the assignment because of his plagiarism from Wikipedia.

because of plagiarising from Wikipedia

because of the fact that he plagiarised from Wikipedia.

3. The car was damaged because of the storm (Because)

because there was a storm.

4. The laptop didn’t work because of someone² dropping it.

because of the fact that someone dropped it.

because of the accident.

5. He was tired because of spending all night on his assignment.

because of the fact that he spent all night on his assignment.

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1. Her writing improved due to her using correct linking words.

due to her use of correct linking words.

due to the fact that she used correct linking words.

2. Immigration has increased since there was a rise in allocations.

3. There are many problems with obesity owing to the fact that people eat too much fast food.

owing to people eating too much fast food.

1 This ___ing is called a ‘gerund’. It changes the verb into a noun.

2 When you use the gerund (____ing), the subject in both the clauses must be the same. If not, you have to add a different subject eg ‘someone’