Learn English: "because" or "because of"?

What’s the difference between "because" and "because of"? The word "because" is used when we express the reason or cause of something. Sometimes, we use it on its own, and other times, we use "because of". Both of them give reasons, but grammatically, they are used in different situations. Do you know the difference between the two? In this short English grammar lesson, I will teach you how to use these common words correctly.
Test your understanding of this lesson by taking my quiz at https://www.engvid.com/learn-english-because-or-because-of/

TRANSCRIPT

Hi. I’m Rebecca from engVid. Do you mix up the words "because" and "because of"? It’s possible that you do and you know it, and it’s possible that you do mix them up but you don’t know it. So, let’s find out-all right?-in this lesson. Now, both of these terms are used to give reasons, but grammatically, in English, they’re actually used very differently. So let’s understand this difference in this lesson.

So, first: "because" by itself is a conjunction in English, and "because of" in English is a two-word preposition. Okay? So, technically, they are different. Now, "because", the conjunction, is followed by a subject and a verb. "Because of", the two-word preposition is followed by a noun or a noun phrase. So, that’s the grammar of it. Let’s look at some examples so you can really understand this.

So here’s an example of using "because" properly: "Because it was raining, we cancelled the picnic." All right? So, what do you see? You see the word "Because"-you see a subject, here, right?-"it", "was raining", verb. Right? "Because it was raining, we cancelled the picnic." All right? So that’s the proper use of the word "because", because it’s followed by a subject and a verb. Now, let’s look at the same sentence with "because of". So, as we said, "because of" should be followed by noun or noun phrase. Let’s see if that happens in our example. "Because of the rain, we cancelled the picnic." You see how it’s quite different from the first example? Here we said: "Because it was raining", here we said: "Because of the rain". So, here, "because" is followed by "rain", which is a noun. Right? And then the rest of it is the same. Now, even though in both these sentences I started with the word "Because", it doesn’t have to be like that; it could be the other way around. It could be: "We cancelled the picnic because of the rain." Or: "We cancelled the picnic because it was raining." Okay? That part doesn’t matter, but this part about "because of" or just "because" is still the same.

Now, let’s take another example. "Because the flight was delayed, they missed the meeting." All right? So, what do we have here? We have: "Because the flight"-subject-"was delayed" is our verb. Right? So that’s fine. "Because the flight was delayed, we missed… They missed the meeting." Let’s look at the next example. "Because of the flight delay, they missed the meeting." So this time we have here-right?-our noun. "Because of the flight delay"-noun, noun phrase-"they missed the meeting". All right? Do you see how it’s quite different? Let’s see how well you’ve understood this by actually doing some practice together.

So, we have here eight fill-in-the-blank sentences, which you will fill in with either "because" or "because of". Remember the rules. "Because" plus a subject or/and verb. Or: "Because of" plus a noun or noun phrase. Okay? Let’s get started.

Number one:
"____ she was busy, she didn’t call me."
So, should we say: "Because she was busy, she didn’t call me." or should we say: "Because of she was busy, she didn’t call me."? Which one is right? It should be: "Because she was busy", because we have "Because" plus a subject, "she was busy". Okay?

Next:
"____ the traffic jam, they were late."
Blank the traffic jam, they were late. Should it be: "Because the traffic jam" or "Because of the traffic jam"? Which one is right? It should be: "Because of the traffic jam". Okay? Good.

Number three:
"____ he had the flu, he couldn’t work."
Blank, should it be: "Because he had the flu" or "Because of he had the flu"? Which one is right? What belongs here? "Because". Okay? Again, "Because", subject, and verb.

Next:
"____ the distance, they took a taxi."
Should it be: "Because the distance, they took a taxi" or "Because of the distance"? It should be: "Because of the distance", right? Because we have a noun after that. "Because of the distance, they took a taxi."

How’s it going so far? Is it going well? I hope so. You have four more. Okay? Let’s go.

Number five:
"We visited John ____ he was in the hospital."
Poor John. So: "We visited John because he was in the hospital." or "We visited John because of he was in the hospital."? It should be… Okay. [Laughs] All right. So: "We visited John because he was in the hospital." All right? Good.