Because / Because of

[oegi]

Hello,

Is there a rule when I have to use one of them? I'm mixed up.

Thank you very much!

Oegi

[hector51]

"because" is followed by a clause,while "because of" is followed by a phrase(often a noun phrase)

For examples:
"because of the heavy rain,we couldn't go out"
"because it rained heavily,we couldn't go out"

Cheers