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logitech · Tue Nov 18, 2008 1:45 pm

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

A have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, have increased
B have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, have been increasing
C has become an ongoing threat because of drought and booming population density, has increased
D have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, has increased
E have become an ongoing threat because of drought and booming population density, has increased

OA E

I got the question correct but I am not clear about the use of BECAUSE OF vs DUE TO

MGMAT explains that:

The phrase "due to drought . . ." is unidiomatic since "because of" (not "due to") should be used to modify the verb phrase "have become an ongoing threat."

Another source says:

1). Because - is a conjunction, used at the beginning of a clause, before a subject and verb.

We were late because it rained.
I'm happy because I met you.

2). Because of - is a two - word preposition, used before a noun or a pronoun.

We were late because of the rain.
I'm happy because of you.

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mals24 · Tue Nov 18, 2008 2:21 pm

I use a simple rule to differentiate between because of and due to.

Use 'because of' in sentences where you can ask the question Why?.

Due to is mostly used in place of 'caused by'.

Look at this sentence only.

wildfires, which have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density.

Why have wildfires become an ongoing threat?
Because of drought and booming ...

We were late because it rained.
Why were we late?
Because it rained.

The game was postponed because of/due to rain."

Why was the game postponed? because of rain.

"The game's postponement was due to rain
In this sentence can we ask the why question? No we can't.
So we don't use because, we'll use due to.

Hope this helps.

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logitech · Tue Nov 18, 2008 2:37 pm

Brilliant

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Karen · Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:28 pm

The GMAT generally doesn't seem to like the phrase 'due to' as a synonym of 'because of', at least in SCs (over in the CR section, the CR writers use it with abandon -- I guess the SC writers aren't nitpicking their work). The explanation given in the OG -- I'm going by my memory because I can't seem to find the right page just now -- makes it sound as if sometimes 'due to' can be used with the GMAT's stamp of approval to describe a causal relationship, but in actual practice, whenever you have 'due to' versus 'because of,' the GMAT always seems to go for 'because of'. Now I'm curious as to whether there are more subtleties to it, and I'm going to try to research it a bit more, but that seems to be their consistent preference.

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logitech · Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:48 pm

Thank you Karen,

Please let us know. It is great having you in this forum.

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vishubn · Tue Nov 18, 2008 11:31 pm

Yaa Same here ! Smile

I dont ask myself WHY !! btu when i find "DUE TO " all i do is replace with caused by ! and see if it makes sense ! and carry on further elliminating and lookign for option!
But yes MALS24 i wil start asking myself "why " !! Smile

Thanks again

VIshu

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saurabh_dce08 · Wed Nov 19, 2008 1:22 am

Due to --- as a result
Because-- on account for

Simple Rule:
He lost because he was shy.

because always modifies verb

His loss was due to the tie.

Due to modifies noun....

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Carloblacksun · Wed Nov 19, 2008 9:05 am

sorry saubrah,

if you say that DUE TO modifies nouns, then DROUGHT and DENSITY should be modifiable by "due to"...don't you think?

I think the best way is to trust Karen, who said that BECAUSE is mostly preferable...

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abhinav101 · Sun Apr 26, 2009 10:26 am

I am unable to find anything conclusive online, but I have come across two decent answers. One of them, a handy method to check out the correctness of 'due to' or 'because of' in a sentence, has been posted in this thread itself.

The other, which seems to be the theory behind this, can be found here . I also reproduce it here verbatim :

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duongthang · Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:00 pm

I read in a dictionary that "due to" is used after "to be".

so "because of" is used after a verb, "due to" is used after "to be"

No question in GMAT test this. GMAT test basic grammar and basis logic mostly. we SHOULD NOT study this question.

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farooq · Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:26 am

A tip that I read from this site is, if you can ask question from that part of the sentence....(using why), use because of.

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

Wildfires have become an ongoing threat...why?

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