ESL Writing: Because vs Because of (review worksheet)

In this ESL writing worksheet, students are introduced to the correct usage of “because” and “because of”.

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Because vs. Because of (Due to / Owing to)

Sentence Pattern:
Because [sentence], [sentence]
Because of [noun/phrase], [sentence]

You write a complete sentence (an “independent clause”) after because, but you only write a noun or a phrase (a “dependent clause”) after because of (or due to/owing to).

Examples:

    • · Because it was raining, school was cancelled.
    • · Because of the rain, school was cancelled.
    • · John moved to California because the weather is good there.
    • · John moved to California because of the good weather.
    • · Due to her hard work, Lilian was promoted to Assistant Manager.
    • · Because she works so hard, Lilian was promoted to Assistant Manager.

Rewrite each of the following sentences twice – once with “because”, and once with “because of” (or “due to” / “owing to”).

1. Chris has a bad temper, and that’s why he got in trouble.

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2. Many people have died this summer. The reason is the hot weather.

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3. I am greatly interested in engineering; therefore, I want to go to MIT.

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4. There was a flood yesterday; that’s why this road is closed.

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