Grammar-Quizzes › Connectors › Connective Prepositions › Because of vs. Despite
Because of vs. Despite
Indicate a causal or non-causal relationship
Cause and Effect Relationship—Because of vs. Despite
| BECAUSE OF | |
|---|---|
Because of, due to, on account of, owing to and thanks to are connective prepositions that relate additional information to the main clause. Each may be followed by a noun phrase (NP) or gerund clause (Ger) that expresses (1) the cause—an act of nature or of man, or (2) the reasoning (human thought) for the effect stated in the main clause. The phrase may be placed before the main clause (with a comma) to focus on or place emphasis on the cause. |
|
| CAUSE | EFFECT |
| PREP PHRASE [P + NP} | MAIN CLAUSE |
Because of the gas explosion, |
several homes burned down. |
Because of an exploding gas line, |
several homes burned down |
Due to the free flow of gas, |
water could not put out the fire. |
Due to free-flowing gas, |
water could not put out the fire. |
On account of the age of the pipeline, |
it broke. |
On account of being so old, |
the pipeline broke. |
Owing to the delay in replacing the pipeline, |
the accident was likely to occur. |
Thanks to the quick response of the fire department, |
people were evacuated in time. |
| DESPITE | |
|---|---|
Despite, in spite of and even though are connective prepositions that relate additional information to the main clause. Each may be followed by a noun phrase (NP) or gerund clause (Ger) that expresses (1) contrary reasoning—the action or opinion that follows does not fit logically with the response (the effect) in the main clause—or (2) concession—the comment that follows acknowledges a weakness or admits an exception to the situation in the effect clause. |
|
| NOT THE CAUSE | EFFECT |
| PREP PHRASE / THAT + CLS | MAIN CLAUSE |
Despite their quick arrival, |
the firemen could do nothing. |
Despite arriving quickly, |
the firemen could do nothing to stop the inferno. |
In spite of their quick arrival, |
the firemen could do nothing except watch the inferno burn. |
Even with the firemen's quick arrival, |
they could do nothing to stop the inferno. |
Even knowing about the smell of gas, |
the gas company did nothing to replace the gas line. |
Even though residents smelled gas, |
the pipeline was not replaced. |
Though residents smelled gas, |
the pipeline was not replaced. |
Regardless of the fact that the fire department responded quickly, |
thirty eight homes burned up in the inferno. |
assertion (N) — a statement or declaration that something is true (without support or reason)
concede (V) — give in on a point, admit something to be true (reluctantly), admit defeat in a game or an election
double prepositions — prepositions that include another prepositional phrase: Because of the fact, by virtue of the fact, in light of the fact, in view of the fact, on account of, owing to the fact, due to the fact
Also see Because/ Though Grammar Notes and Pop-Q "Though".
| CAUSE EFFECT → NO CAUSE-EFFECT | |
|---|---|
REASON effect–cause |
The firemen did well because of their preparation for catastrophic gas explosions. The opinion or action is a logical response to the assertion or situation in other clause—cause-effect. |
CONCESSIVE REASON effect–an exception |
The firemen did well despite some initial confusion about the source of the explosion. The situation or action is something that does not logically fit with the previous statement—a weakness, an advantage, an exception. See Concession. |
CONTRARY REASON effect–no cause |
The firemen did well despite their inexperience with catastrophic gas explosions. The opinion or action is a not a logical or an expected response to the assertion or situation in other clause. (The reason they did well was due to something else.) See Contrary Reasoning. |
catastrophic (Adj) – very destructive, disastrous
inexperience (N) – no or very little experience
initial (Adj) – in the beginning, early
not well-informed (Adj) – not having good or accurate knowledge about
"Due to"
With a "Be" Verb
Verb + Because of vs. "Be" Due to
| BECAUSE OF |
|---|
The two-word preposition because of is followed by a noun or noun phrase (noun + determiners and modifiers) |
| AFTER MOST VERBS |
The explosion occurred because of the aging pipes. (N) |
He survived the event because of luck. (N) |
She loves her children because of her motherly instincts. |
| DUE TO |
|---|
In some usage, due to differs from because of in that it follows a be-verb and is more similar to an adjective complement. (but not – owing to) In other usage, due to does not differ from because of. |
| AFTER A "BE" VERB |
The explosion was due to the aging pipes. |
His survival was due to luck. |
Her motherly love is due to her instincts. |
aging (modifier) – becoming old or falling into poor condition as a result of use and wear
instinct (N) – a natural tendency to behave in a particular way or a natural ability to know something, which is not learned
Rewording a Clause After a Preposition
Expressing an activity in fewer words
Shortening a clause to a phrase
| CLAUSE | |
|---|---|
Because is connective preposition that is complemented by a clause with a subject and predicate. |
|
| CONNECTOR | CLAUSE |
because |
they are coming at five o'clock |
because |
Jack was driving without his ID card. |
because |
she spent all her money |
because |
he reached his goal |
because |
the bank closed |
| NOUN PHRASE | |
|---|---|
Because of is connective preposition that is complemented by a noun phrase or gerund clause. To reword a clause, (1) change the subject to a possessive, also called genitive form; (2) reword the content of the clause to a noun phrase or a gerund clause. |
|
| 2-WORD PREP | NOUN PHRASE / GERUND |
because of |
their five o’clock arrival (NP) their arriving at five (GER CLS) |
because of |
Jack's driving without his ID card (GER CLS) |
because of |
[her]¹ spending all her money (GER CLS) having spent² all her money (perfect) |
because of |
[his] reaching his goal (GER CLS) having reached his goal (perfect) |
because of |
the bank's closure(NP) the bank closing (GER CLS) the bank having closed (nonfinite perfect "earlier") |
¹ If the pronoun ("agent" of the gerund clause) is redundant, it can be omitted. Also see Gerund Cls w/Subjects (his arriving late)
² Express earlier timing in a gerund clause, with having. See Nonfinite Clauses "Earlier".
connector – See Grammar Notes for term description.
gerund clause (perfect) – having + gerund expresses an earlier time than the time in the other clause: Because of our having arrived early at the train station, we had to wait for them to pick us up.
terms: gerund phrase (used by Azar) / nonfinite clause (used in linguistic description)
Be Verbs
| CLAUSE | |
|---|---|
Because can also be complemented by a clause with a be verb. The clause with "be" can be changed to a noun phrase (NP) by using being or the noun form of the adjective. |
|
| CONNECTOR | SUBJ NOUN + CLAUSE |
because |
the wine was very dark red |
because |
she was very tired |
because |
Alfred is very old |
because |
the cat had been frightened |
| NOUN PHRASE | |
|---|---|
A similar meaning may be expressed with because of complemented by a noun phrase or being + an adjective. 1) the subject is expressed as a genitive (a possessive noun or pronoun); 2) the "be" verb takes form as being + adjective, or the verb+ adjective can be changed to just the noun form (NP) omitting the verb. |
|
| 2-WORD PREP | POSS NOUN + NOUN PHRASE |
because of |
the wine's dark, red color (NP) |
because of |
her tiredness (NP) |
because of |
his advanced age (NP) |
because of |
his fright (NP) |
Related pages After / Before –ing (before, after, while, when, since) | Because + Clause (because – same time & earlier)
SUBJ NOUN – subject noun or pronoun
POSS NOUN – possessive noun or pronoun
because — heads a connective prepositional phrase that takes a clause as its complement.
because of the color— "because" heads the connective prepositional phrase, which takes the prepositional phrase "of the color" as its complement. (PP [PP])
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
Error and Solution
| ERROR |
|---|
"Because of it is coming soon news coverage of the election is increasing."
|
*Due to it's raining here, we can't go. |
| SOLUTION |
|---|
Because of the upcoming election, news coverage of it is increasing. 1) Use a noun phrase after because of: the upcoming election (See Noun Phrases above.) 2) Use the noun election in the first clause and the referring pronoun in the second clause. Always mention the noun first before using a referring pronoun such as it. |
Due to the rain here, we can't go. There is no noun phrase that can replace it, so rephrase the sentence. |
*Yellow highlighting indicates example of incorrect usage.
Pop-Q – "because of"
Grammar Notes (Advanced)
Traditional and Linguistic Description
Traditional / ESL and Linguistic Descriptions
| TRADITIONAL / ESL GRAMMAR |
|---|
In traditional grammar — because, since, as— are connectors that introduce adverb clauses. They relate why something occurred. |
| BECAUSE |
because — conjunction (Swan 510)
|
| BECAUSE OF |
because of, due to — two-word preposition (Swan 94.1) Sometimes, usually in formal writing, due to is followed by a noun clause introduced by the fact that… Like adverb clauses, these phrases can also follow main clauses. |
| LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION |
|---|
In current linguistic description —because as since, as, etc.— are included in the preposition category. (In this description, prepositions can be complemented by a wide variety of sentence structures and are not limited to object complements.) |
| BECAUSE |
because, as, since, inasmuch as
|
| BECAUSE OF |
because of, due to, owing to, on account of
|
Functions: Subject – the causer or doer of the action ; Predicate – the action; COMP – complement: elements required by an expression to complete its meaning ; ADJUNCT: — adjunct: elements not required by an expression to complete its meaning.
CATEGORIES: NP –noun phrase; N – noun; VP – verb phrase; V – verb; Det – determiner; PP – prepositional phrase; P – preposition; AdvP – adverb phrase; Adv – adverb; AdjP– adjective phrase; Adj – adjective
Works Cited
- Aarts, Bas. Oxford Modern English Grammar. Oxford UP, 2011.
- Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar. 4th ed., Pearson Education, 2009.
- Biber, Douglas, and Stig Johansson, et al. Longman Grammar Of Spoken And Written English. Pearson Education, 1999.
- Huddleston, Rodney D., and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge UP, 2002.
- Payne, Thomas Edward. Understanding English Grammar: A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge UP, 2011.
- Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2005.
- Quirk, Randolph and Sidney Greenbaum. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. 7th ed., Longman Group, 1989.
Practice 1
Chaos During the Fire
Decide whether to use a clause or a noun phrase in the sentence.
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
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Practice 2
Reasons for Responses
Use an adverb or a phrasal preposition.
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Practice 3
Four Years After the Explosion
Read for Errors
In the last four years, the city of San Bruno has been working to rebuild the infrastructure of the neighborhood that was destroyed by fire.
The city had to spend to spend over $15 million in repairs because the complete destruction of the area. It has completed the underground work and will soon finish the above-ground work to roads, sidewalks and street lights. In addition, the city will need to replace the trees and the play structures in the neighborhood park as because they burned up too.
Despite the neighbors' desire to rebuild quickly, reconstruction has been slow owing to there were numerous investigations and legal decisions.
A National Transportation Safety (NTS) board investigation found that the explosion was cause a defective seam weld in the pipeline.
Last week, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) fined Pacific Gas & Electric (PG & E) $1.4 billion for the San Bruno explosion. The money will go to the state's general fund. However, some people object to the decision because they want the money to go toward improving gas pipeline safety.
Twenty-four neighbors have rebuilt their homes and soon another ten will begin rebuilding their homes. The other seventeen neighbors are already back in their homes due to that their homes were damaged (not destroyed) and repaired.
The city planners have taken their time on account of they want to do it right this time.
The state and city governments have enacted several new regulations to improve gas pipeline safety due to this terrible accident that could have been prevented.
defective (Adj) — faulty, not made correctly
enact (V) — make law
fine (V) — penalize; force someone to pay money for wrong-doing.
fund (N) — savings intended for a specific purpose
infrastructure (N) — the basic, supporting services underground and above ground (sewers, gas and electrical lines, roads, sidewalks, lighting)
numerous (quantifier) — several
pipeline (N) — the system of metal tubes through which natural gas flows
prevent (V) — avoid or keep from happening
regulations (N) — rules, laws
seam (N) — the line where two pieces of material (metal) come together.
weld (N) — join metal by melting the edges with high heat and pressing them together while they are hot
wrongdoing (N) — illegal or immoral behavior
"San Bruno Explosion." CBS SF Bay Area 8 Sep. 2014, sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/tag/san-bruno-explosion. Accessed on 19 Aug. 2016.
Edit for Errors
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