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.

have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, have increased
have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, have been increasing
has become an ongoing threat because of drought and booming population density, has increased
have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, has increased
have become an ongoing threat because of drought and booming population density, has increased

Pls clarify the use of " because of " & "due to " in this question. I am very confused abt the usage & could not differentiate between the two. Help

Between D and E, The only deciding factor is the answer to the question asked above

As far as I understand, 'due to' is used in constructions where 'due to' can be replaced with 'caused by'.

So plugging that in D,

have become an ongoing threat caused by drought and booming population density, has increased

and

because is used to reason for something.

Thus, IMO E.

+1 for Pranay

yup it should be E.......whats the OA???????

Yes as told by bubilli...Simple substitute and check the meaning for the last 2 options D and E...Ultimately E will be the best pick....

ankur.agrawal wrote: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.

have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, have increased
have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, have been increasing
has become an ongoing threat because of drought and booming population density, has increased
have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, has increased
have become an ongoing threat because of drought and booming population density, has increased


Pls clarify the use of " because of " & "due to " in this question. I am very confused abt the usage & could not differentiate between the two. Help

OA is indeed E

Difference between D and E is still not clear. Please help.

Thanks
Mankey

What is your doubt here?

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
Ok, since we all know now that E is the correct answer, let me try to clear your doubt about the difference between "due to" and "because of".
Reason 1) "Due to" is used to modify a noun where as "because of" is used to modify a verb.
a) The watch's deplorable state is due to lack of repair.
b) The watch is in deplorable state because of lack of repair.
If we replace "because of" with "due to" in sentence b then it will be idiomatically incorrect. The reason is "due to" cannot be used as a reason for a verb or an action. "Due to" cannot be used to explain why a certain thing happens/happened.
"Due to" in sentence a) modifies the watch's deplorable state, whereas "because of" in the next sentence gives reason why the watch is in deplorable state.

Reason 2) The use of "due to" is correct when we can replace it by "caused by".
a) The watch's deplorable state is "caused by" lack of repair.
This sentence completely makes sense and thus use of "due to" in the sentence is correct.
b) The watch is in deplorable state caused by lack of repair.
This sentence just does not make any sense. Thus, use of "due to" will not be correct here.

Now let's apply these reasons to the answer choices in question.
Choice D reads, have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density. So the sentence will stand as: Wildfires have become an ongoing threat due to drought and population density.
As per the first reason, "due to" can only be used to modify noun. But in this choice, "due to" is modifying the verb "have become". It is actually giving the reason for why wildfire has become an ongoing threat. Thus, this usage is incorrect.
Now let's replace "due to" with "caused by". Now the sentence stands as: Wildfires have become an ongoing threat caused by drought and population density.
This sentence does not make sense. Thus, choice D is incorrect.

Now choice E reads, have become an ongoing threat because of drought and booming population density. Adding the subject to it, the sentence reads: Wildfires have become an ongoing threat because of drought and booming population density. Here, "because of" is correctly modifying the verb "have become". It is stating the reason why wildfires have become ongoing threats. Thus, choice E is correct.

thanks all