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In-Depth Tips from Dr English

doceng3Dr English is the resident expert in language and communication training at Workplace English Training E-Platform (WETE). The informative and often in-depth articles below will help more advanced learners to understand and improve various aspects of their English, especially the English they need for work. You can read Dr English's tips on your PC, laptop or mobile device. These articles are only available for members of WETE. If you would like to subscribe and receive email notifications of future postings, please subscribe by clicking the Newsletter link above.

Usage Tips for Linking Words and Phrases

11 May 2021

buswriting3Due to / Owing to / Because of / As a Result of

Due to, because of, as a result of and owing to must be followed by a noun or noun phrase. Owing to, unlike because of, as a result of and due to, is generally followed by something negative. For example:

Due to increased demand, we are unable to supply all items.

Owing to the company's poor performance, bonuses are cancelled this year.

Because of changes to the computer system, everyone now needs to log in.

If you want to follow due to and owing to with a clause, you must follow the words with the fact that.

For example:

Due to the fact that demand has increased, we are unable to supply all items.

Owing to the fact that the workers have gone on strike, the company has been unable to fulfil all its orders.


Because / Since / As

Because, since and as, which all mean the same thing, can be used at the beginning or middle of a sentence.  For example:

Because/Since/As it was raining, the match was postponed.

We believe in incentive schemes, because/since/as we need to encourage our employees to be more productive.


Therefore / So / Consequently / As a Result

Therefore, so, consequently and as a result are all used in a similar way.  For example:

The company is expanding. Therefore/So/Consequently/As a result, it is hiring extra staff.

So is more informal.


But / However

But is more informal than however. But is a conjunction and joins two contrasting sentences together. However also shows contrast but shows this between two separate sentences. For example:

He works hard but he doesn’t earn much.

He works hard. However, he doesn’t earn much.


Despite / In spite of

Despite and in spite of are used in the same way as due to and owing to.  They must be followed by a noun or noun phrase.  If you want to follow them with a clause, you must follow with the words the fact that. For example:

Despite the fact that the company was doing badly, they recruited additional staff.
 

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