here's the easiest way to figure out "due to":
"due to" means "caused by".
if you can't replace "due to" with "caused by", then it's wrong.
for instance:
i was late due to the construction --> incorrect (because you can't say "i was late caused by the construction")
i was late because of the construction --> correct.
--
in general, "due to" only applies to nouns, since it means "caused by".
for instance,
the traffic jam was due to an obstruction in the left lane
or
the traffic jam due to the obstruction in the left lane caused 30-minute delays
these are correct because "caused by" works just fine - the noun modified is "the traffic".
gmat_perfect wrote:We were late because of the rain.
I'm happy because of you.
These two examples are NOT correct.
wrong.
"we were late because of the rain" is perfectly grammatical.
it's a bit informal -- the test would likely use a passive-voice construction instead (e.g., "we were delayed by the rain"). but it is certainly not incorrect.
the second of these sentences ("i'm happy because of you") is also perfectly grammatical, although there's no sense in considering such sentences on this forum: first, it's written in the first and second person, neither of which even appears on this test, and, second, it's an extremely informal sentence. this test only uses extremely formal sentences in the third person, so it's silly to consider such informal examples (which are pretty much exclusively the domain of spoken, rather than written, language).
We were late due to rain------correct.==> because Be verb, were, needs to use due to.
i am happy due to you..........correct ==> Because be verb, am, needs due to after it.
wrong and wrong.
try replacing these with "caused by", and note the ridiculousness that results.
if you need an explanation of WHY "due to" works this way, the explanation is simple: "due" is an ADJECTIVE. adjectives have to modify NOUNS, as do past participles (such as "caused").
in these two sentences, you're trying to use an adjective ("due") to modify a
clause ("we were late" / "i am happy"). this is, of course, incorrect.
