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Due to vs because of

by Abdulla » Mon Dec 21, 2009 10:20 pm
Though laypeople often refer to the panda as a bear, due to its physical resemblance to one, DNA testing has shown that it is more closely related to the common raccoon than any member of the bear family.

A) due to its physical resemblance to one, DNA testing has shown that it is more closely related to the common raccoon than

B) due to the fact that it physically resembles one, DNA testing showed that it is more closely related to the common raccoon than is

C) because of its physical resemblance to one, DNA testing has shown that it is more closely related to the common raccoon than

D) because of its resemblance to one physically, DNA testing has shown that it is more closely related to the common raccoon than is

E) because of its physical resemblance to one, DNA testing has shown that it is more closely related to the common raccoon than to


OA is E

My question is what is the difference between A and E ?
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by capnx » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:18 pm
E maintains the parallel "more related to X than to Y..."

also, if everything else is right (grammar, parallelism, comparison...), "because" is preferred over "due to" for style reasons
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by hrishi19884 » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:19 pm
Using "than...." instead of ""than to...." changes the complete meaning of the sentence.

Also, "closely related to .............than to" shows correct parallelism.

Hope you get it :-)
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by hrishi19884 » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:21 pm
@capnx, you said something about "style reasons" whats that? hearing it for the first time buddy;-)
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by Abdulla » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:22 pm
hrishi19884 wrote:Using "than...." instead of ""than to...." changes the complete meaning of the sentence.

Also, "closely related to .............than to" shows correct parallelism.

Hope you get it :-)
I did not recognize the "to". Now, definitely E is better than A, but my question is what is the difference between Due to and because of and when to use each?
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by Abdulla » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:24 pm
capnx wrote:E maintains the parallel "more related to X than to Y..."

also, if everything else is right (grammar, parallelism, comparison...), "because" is preferred over "due to" for style reasons
Capnx, I think the style reason that you're talking about is between "Due to vs because " not because of.
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by capnx » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:47 pm
Abdulla wrote:
capnx wrote:E maintains the parallel "more related to X than to Y..."

also, if everything else is right (grammar, parallelism, comparison...), "because" is preferred over "due to" for style reasons
Capnx, I think the style reason that you're talking about is between "Due to vs because " not because of.
yes, thanks for the correction. but even for "because of" and "due to" there's still a little subtle difference. check this out:
https://tianlong-gmat.blocked/2006/ ... cause.html
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by hrishi19884 » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:54 pm
I don't see any reason why I can't use "due to " in this case.

As per my understanding - "because of" and "due to " both are good here and can be used in any sentence the way you like.

For eg : "I didn't go to work because of my personal reasons."

you can also use " I didn't go to work due to my personal reasons"

I think the only difference in this question was of using "than to...." instead of "than....."
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by Abdulla » Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:00 am
hrishi19884 wrote:I don't see any reason why I can't use "due to " in this case.

As per my understanding - "because of" and "due to " both are good here and can be used in any sentence the way you like.

For eg : "I didn't go to work because of my personal reasons."

you can also use " I didn't go to work due to my personal reasons"

I think the only difference in this question was of using "than to...." instead of "than....."
Thanks Hirishi
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by hrishi19884 » Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:01 am
The link that you have mentioned explains the difference between "due to" and "because of".

It mentions two examples :

1)His loss was due to a broken tie rod.

2)He lost because of a broken tie rod.


I find no difference in the meaning of both these sentence.

I can write first sentence as "He lost due to a broken tie rod" -----can't I write it?
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by Abdulla » Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:23 am
capnx wrote:
Abdulla wrote:
capnx wrote:E maintains the parallel "more related to X than to Y..."

also, if everything else is right (grammar, parallelism, comparison...), "because" is preferred over "due to" for style reasons
Capnx, I think the style reason that you're talking about is between "Due to vs because " not because of.
yes, thanks for the correction. but even for "because of" and "due to" there's still a little subtle difference. check this out:
https://tianlong-gmat.blocked/2006/ ... cause.html
I agree that the difference is that Due to is an adjectival propositional clause whereas because of is an adverbial propositional clause, but my problem is how can I differentiate between the two clauses so that I can decide whether Due to or because of is correct?

I read the definitions in wikipedia, but I got lost.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverbial_clause
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjective_ ... ive_clause
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by hrishi19884 » Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:58 am
Here is the CATCH - you can use one trick to know when to use "because of" and when to use "due to"

First, get the below two things in you head permanently

Due to - As a result of

Because of - On account of

Now, In our original sentence sentence try replacing both the above meanings.

Original - > Though laypeople often refer to the panda as a bear, due to its physical resemblance to one, DNA testing has shown that it is more closely related to the common raccoon than any member of the bear family.

new - > Though laypeople often refer to the panda as a bear, as a result of its physical resemblance to one, DNA testing has shown that it is more closely related to the common raccoon than any member of the bear family.


new-> Though laypeople often refer to the panda as a bear, On account of its physical resemblance to one, DNA testing has shown that it is more closely related to the common raccoon than any member of the bear family.

Read both of the "new" one's loudly. Which sounds better? I think "On account of" sounds better. :-)
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by Abdulla » Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:55 am
hrishi19884 wrote:Here is the CATCH - you can use one trick to know when to use "because of" and when to use "due to"

First, get the below two things in you head permanently

Due to - As a result of

Because of - On account of

Now, In our original sentence sentence try replacing both the above meanings.

Original - > Though laypeople often refer to the panda as a bear, due to its physical resemblance to one, DNA testing has shown that it is more closely related to the common raccoon than any member of the bear family.

new - > Though laypeople often refer to the panda as a bear, as a result of its physical resemblance to one, DNA testing has shown that it is more closely related to the common raccoon than any member of the bear family.


new-> Though laypeople often refer to the panda as a bear, On account of its physical resemblance to one, DNA testing has shown that it is more closely related to the common raccoon than any member of the bear family.

Read both of the "new" one's loudly. Which sounds better? I think "On account of" sounds better. :-)
Hrishi, Check this out.


Due to

1. due to is followed by to be verbs such as (am, is, was, were etc.,)
ex: My loss of appetite was due to a stomachache.

2. Try replacing due to with "Caused by", if it makes sense after replacement then its a correct choice.


Because of

1. Because of modifies nouns/pronouns
2. GMAT's Favorite when between due to and because of
3. Ask question "why" when because of is there in a sentence.
ex: I lost my appetite because of a stomachache.
Why did you lose your appetite? You'd answer, "Because of a stomachache."

Because:

1. It is a conjunction, used with clauses (Subject +Verb)
Ex:
We were late because it rained.
I'm happy because I met you.
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by hrishi19884 » Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:20 pm
Great Abdulla, that's really a nice way to find it out!! :-)
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by sashish007 » Fri Oct 29, 2010 12:08 am
I have posted this explanation on the MGMAT forum discussions for 'Due to Vs Because of':
https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/due ... t3081.html

'because of' answers WHY questions:

sample 1-'Because of his intolerant attitude, that politician always seems to be attacking the poor.'
Why does the politician seem to be attacking the poor?
>> because of his intolerant attitude

sample 2-'The number of acres destroyed by wildfires, which have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, has increased ....'
Why have the wildfires become an ongoing threat?
>> because of drought and booming population density


'due to' answers WHAT questions:

sample 1-'The team's win today was due to better conditioning'
What caused the team's win today?
OR
What was the team's win today due to?
>> better conditioning (noun)

Ashish
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