English Experts

[donay mendonça]

Ao contrário do que muita gente pensa, "because of" e "due to" não são palavras que podem se substituir.

Exemplo de uso de ambos:

1. His defeat was due to the lottery issue.

2. He was defeated because of the lottery issue.

- Usando o "due to":

"Due to" significa "causado por":

Incorrect: The game was postponed due to rain.
Correct: The game was postponed because of rain.
Correct: The game's postponement was due to rain.

Como podem ver, "due to" é normalmente precedido de um verbo "to be" (is, was, were, am, etc.)

Obs: A expressão "due to the fact that" pode ser substituída por "because".

- Usando o "because of":

Uma boa dica: Use o "because of" quando você puder responder a pergunta "Why?" sem uma setença completa.

ex: I lost my appetite because of a stomachache.

Why did you lose your appetite? “Because of a stomachache.”



Agora para praticar, clique aqui.

Espero ter ajudado.

[Liacassia]

Hi Thulio!

Muito bom!

Liacassia

[Daniel_MV]

http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000208.htm

[Henry Cunha]

Opinions differ on this, and the synonymous usage is common:

"Usage: The use of due to as a compound preposition (the performance has been cancelled due to bad weather) was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003"

From http://www.thefreedictionary.com/due

[Flavia.lm]

Opinions differ on this, and the synonymous usage is common:

"Usage: The use of due to as a compound preposition (the performance has been cancelled due to bad weather) was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003"

From http://www.thefreedictionary.com/due

Interessante.
Eu tinha anotado em meu caderninho:
Because of = por causa de
(Be) due to = (ser) devido à --> sempre após verbo to be

Mas o link dado pelo Henry mostra um exemplo interessante:

the performance has been cancelled due to bad weather
the performance has been cancelled because of bad weather
(ambas corretas)

[Flavia.lm]

Tip #1: When inclined to use “due to,” move the phrase directly after the connecting verb. If the sentence doesn't read correctly, it's “because of.” Try that with #3: “Due to/because of the effects of El Nino, the snowfall was heavy.” It won't work because the sentence would then read “the snowfall was due to the effects of El Nino heavy.” And that just doesn't make sense.

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Tip #2: Whenever you see this “due to/because of” situation at the beginning of a sentence, it's going to be “because of” if a linking verb is involved. Why? Because for “due to” to come into play, the sentence would have to end with the connecting verb because the adjectival “due to” must modify a noun, in this case “snowfall” : “Due to the effects of El Nino, the snowfall was.” And that just sounds funny, to say the least.
The only exception is when referring to the arrival of trains, planes and the like: “Due to arrive a 7:30, the bus was 45 minutes late. It didn't arrive until 8:15.”

source: http://web.ku.edu/~edit/becausetest3b.html