because of
🔊 Pronunciation
/bɪˈkɒz əv/ (BrE), /bɪˈkɔːz əv/ (AmE)
📝 Preposition Type
Type: complex_preposition
Core meaning: expressing causation or reason – introduces the cause or reason for something
Can function as: preposition
📍 Spatial Meanings
⏰ Temporal Meanings
💭 Abstract Meanings
Causation reason
introduces the cause, reason, or explanation for something
The game was cancelled because of rain.
She succeeded because of her hard work.
They arrived late because of traffic.
Because of the pandemic, many businesses closed.
He lost his job because of budget cuts.
The project failed because of poor planning.
Negative cause: The flight was delayed because of bad weather., He failed the exam because of lack of preparation., The company went bankrupt because of mismanagement.
Positive cause: She got the promotion because of her excellent performance., They won the game because of teamwork., The event was successful because of careful planning.
Neutral cause: The meeting was rescheduled because of a conflict., Prices increased because of inflation., The system changed because of new regulations.
Attribution
attributes a situation or state to a particular cause
All of this happened because of you.
The confusion arose because of miscommunication.
The delay occurred because of technical issues.
🔗 Complement Structures
Noun phrase
Structure: because of + noun phrase
because of the weather because of his attitude because of these problems because of what happened
Articles: articles used normally according to noun phrase requirements; definite article common when cause is specific
Pronoun
Structure: because of + pronoun
because of you because of them because of this because of that because of it
Gerund
Structure: because of + gerund/gerund phrase
because of working too hard because of not studying enough because of having arrived late because of being unprepared
Clause
Structure: cannot be followed by a clause
INCORRECT: because of he was late CORRECT: because he was late
💬 Fixed Expressions & Collocations
Idioms
“because of the fact that” – introduces a reason in clause form (formal to neutral)
Collocations
Verb + prep:
Obligatory:
Common: happen because of, occur because of, fail because of, succeed because of, suffer because of, cancel because of, delay because of, postpone because of, close because of, die because of
Adj + prep:
Common: angry because of, upset because of, happy because of, sad because of, frustrated because of, worried because of
Noun + prep:
Common: problem because of, delay because of, cancellation because of, failure because of, success because of, change because of
⚠️ Common Errors
❌ because of + clause (e.g., 'because of he was late')→✓ because + clause OR because of + noun phrase (e.g., 'because he was late' OR 'because of his lateness')
'because of' is a preposition and must be followed by a noun phrase or gerund, not a clause. Use 'because' (conjunction) before clauses.
Common for: common across all language backgrounds
❌ because + noun phrase (e.g., 'because the rain')→✓ because of + noun phrase (e.g., 'because of the rain')
'because' is a conjunction requiring a clause with subject and verb; 'because of' is needed before noun phrases
Common for: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French speakers often omit 'of'
❌ due to confusion – using 'due to' after action verbs→✓ 'because of' after action verbs; 'due to' after 'be' verbs
Traditionally, 'due to' modifies nouns and follows 'be'; 'because of' modifies verbs and shows causation
Medium impact – increasingly accepted in informal use impact
❌ thanks to confusion – using 'because of' for positive outcomes when credit intended→✓ 'thanks to' for positive attribution; 'because of' is neutral
'thanks to' implies gratitude or positive attribution; 'because of' is neutral and can be negative
❌ on account of confusion – using formal alternatives inappropriately→✓ 'because of' in most contexts; 'on account of' only in formal writing
'on account of' and 'owing to' are formal synonyms but sound archaic in speech
❌ because of the fact that + clause (verbose construction)→✓ because + clause (direct and concise)
'because of the fact that' is unnecessarily wordy and criticized in academic and professional writing
Medium impact – affects writing quality impact
❌ positioning at sentence end without complement→✓ always include the noun phrase complement
Unlike some prepositions, 'because of' cannot strand at the end without its object
Low impact – rare error impact
❌ subject pronoun after 'because of' (e.g., 'because of he')→✓ object pronoun after 'because of' (e.g., 'because of him')
Prepositions are followed by object pronouns, not subject pronouns
Common for: speakers of languages without case distinctions (e.g., Chinese, Thai)
⚖️ Contrasts with Similar Prepositions
Because vs vs vs because vs of
Spatial: not applicable
Temporal: not applicable
Abstract: 'because' introduces clauses (subject + verb); 'because of' introduces noun phrases
Due vs to vs vs vs because vs of
Spatial: not applicable
Temporal: not applicable
Abstract: Traditionally, 'due to' modifies nouns (adjectival); 'because of' modifies verbs (adverbial)
Thanks vs to vs vs vs because vs of
Key difference: 'thanks to' implies positive outcome or gratitude; 'because of' is neutral
Owing vs to vs vs vs because vs of
Key difference: 'owing to' is formal/archaic; 'because of' is standard in all registers
On vs account vs of vs vs vs because vs of
Key difference: 'on account of' is formal and somewhat archaic; 'because of' is preferred
🌍 Etymology
Origin: Compound of Middle English 'because' + 'of'. 'Because' itself derives from Middle English 'bi cause' (by cause), from Old French 'par cause de'
Original meaning: “by cause of, by reason of – originally a more transparent phrase showing causation”