“Because of the rain”, not “because the rain”

The rule

Use because + subject + verb: We stayed home because it was raining. Use because of + a noun or pronoun: We stayed home because of the rain.

Arabic makes the same split (بسبب + noun, لأن + sentence), but when we write fast we drop of or add it in the wrong place: because the rain, because of it was late.

Examples

In a conversation

A: Sorry I'm late. The bus was slow because of the traffic.

B: No problem. We started late because Ali was on a call.

A: Did I miss anything important?

B: No, just the introduction.

Practice

Choose the best answer. The answers are at the end of the lesson.

1. The flight was delayed ___ the fog.
   • a) because
   • b) due
   • c) because of
2. I didn't call you ___ my phone was broken.
   • a) because of
   • b) because
   • c) due to
3. We cancelled the trip because of ___.
   • a) the weather
   • b) the weather was bad
   • c) it was raining

Tip

Look at the next words: if there is a verb (was, is, have), use because; if there is only a noun (the rain, the traffic, you), use because of. In formal writing, due to works like because of.

Answers

1. c) because of. The fog is a noun, so because of.
2. b) because. A subject and verb follow, so because.
3. a) the weather. Because of takes a noun, not a clause.

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