User:Florescent

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enThis user is a native speaker of the English language. Is human.This user is a member of the Grammar WikiProject. BAThis user has a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University. About Userboxes

About Me

My name is Rene Flores and I am a professional graphic designer living in Los Angeles. I received my B.A. from Yale University in 1991.

Why did I join the community?

I find Wikipedia really useful, but I noticed that many articles could use some help with grammar. I want to help make articles easier to understand.

Due To vs Because Of

One rule of English grammar which many writers forget: The phrase “due to” is not interchangeable with the phrase “because of”.

Contributors commonly attempt to modify a verb or verb phrase with “due to”. For example, The candidate was defeated due to the lottery issue.

In this sentence, “the candidate” is the subject and “was defeated” is the verb. “Due to” is an adjective, and adjectives do not modify verbs. (Really? “Due to” is an adjective? Yes it is. To learn more, read this.)

If the writer wants to explain the “why” of the verb “was defeated”, he or she would use an adverb or adverbial prepositional phrase, such as “because of”.

Thus the correct form of the example sentence above would be, The candidate was defeated because of the lottery issue..

So what is the correct way to use the phrase “due to” with the example sentence above? Remember that “due to” must modify a noun or pronoun. Thus, The candidate's defeat was due to the lottery issue.

In this sentence, “defeat” is the subject and “was” is a linking verb. To create a sentence we need a subject complement after the verb “was.” The adjectival prepositional phrase “due to the lottery issue” is that complement, linked to the subject by “was”. Thus it modifies the noun “defeat.”

Here is a quiz to help clarify the difference.

More Than vs Over

Another problem for writers but whose answer is less clear is the use of more than versus over. There seems to be no hard and fast rule on this one. The AP Stylebook offers the following:

Over generally refers to spatial relationships: "The plane flew over the city." More than is preferred with numerals: "Their salaries went up more than $20 a week."

But the OED and the Columbia Journalism Review state that "more than" and "over" can be used interchangeably. This may be true in spoken English, but when it comes to written text, I would disagree based on the following examples:

"There's more than one opinion on this issue."
"There's over one opinion on this issue."

That second sentence doesn't make much sense. Also consider whether or not "over" offers the same clarity as "more than" in the following examples:

"Robert drove over 200 miles to reach home."

Did Robert drive across an area of exactly 200 miles, or did he drive a distance greater than 200 miles?

"The convention will last over five days."

Will the convention take place over the course of exactly five days, or will it last longer than five days?

So if the goal in one's writing is to mimic the cadence of casual conversation, then "over" and "more than" could be used interchangeably. But if the goal is to present information in an encyclopedic style, as in Wikipedia, I believe a writer should follow the AP Stylebook rule: Use “over” when referring to spatial relationships and use “more than” with numerals.

Other Wikis to Which I Have Contributed

• Wookieepedia - The Star Wars Wiki
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Wiki
• The Simpsons Wiki
• Smallville Wiki
• Harry Potter Wiki
• Fringe Wiki
• Dark Castle Wiki
• Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Wiki

My Other Websites

• My t-shirt shop

--Florescent (talk) 03:34, 14 July 2009 (UTC)