Because of you// Thanks to you

[misu]

It is about the expressions:

• Thanks to....
• Because of....

I have two questions concercing these expressions.

1) Is ist "a" more natural than "b"?

a. Thanks to you, I have met him.
a. Because of you, I missed the train.

b. I have met him thanks to you.
b. I missed the train because of you.

2) When asking the question, which one is correct: "a" or "b"?


a. Is it thank to her that you met him?
a. Is it because of him that you missed the train?

b. Have you met him thanks to her
b. Did you miss the train because of him?

Thank you!

 

[PeterCW]

Generally "thanks to you" is used where the outcome is favourable and "because of you" where it is neutral or unfavourable. Having said that "thanks to you" can also be used sarcastically where the outcome is unfavourable.

I leave it to others to pick apart your examples.

 

[misu]

Generally "thanks to you" is used where the outcome is favourable and "because of you" where it is neutral or unfavourable. Having said that "thanks to you" can also be used sarcastically where the outcome is unfavourable.

I leave it to others to pick apart your examples.

Thank you but my question was not about the difference of meaning between "thanks to " and "because of".

Have a good day!

 

[emsr2d2]

[STRIKE]It is about the expressions:[/STRIKE]

• Thanks to ...
• Because of ...

I have two questions concerning these expressions.

1) [STRIKE]Is[/STRIKE] Are [STRIKE]ist[/STRIKE] the two sentences marked "a" more natural than those marked "b"?

a. Thanks to you, I have met him.
a. Because of you, I missed the train.

b. I have met him, thanks to you.
b. I missed the train because of you.

2) When asking the question, which [STRIKE]one is[/STRIKE] are correct, the ones marked "a" or those marked "b"?

a. Is it thanks to her that you met him?
a. Is it because of him that you missed the train?

b. Have you met him thanks to her?
b. Did you miss the train because of him?

[STRIKE]Thank you![/STRIKE] Unnecessary. Thank us after we help you, by clicking on the "Thank" button.

Please note my corrections above. If you want to use an ellipsis, put a space after a word and then three dots.

All of your sentences are grammatically correct and possible. I don't find any of them particularly more natural than any other.

 

[jutfrank]

1) Is ist "a" more natural than "b"?

a. Thanks to you, I have met him.
a. Because of you, I missed the train.

b. I have met him, thanks to you.
b. I missed the train because of you.

That's not a good question. The difference is not about naturalness. There are various reasons that govern which part of a sentence we say first/last.

2) When asking the question, which one is correct: "a" or "b"?

a. Is it thanks to her that you met him?
a. Is it because of him that you missed the train?

b. Have you met him thanks to her?
b. Did you miss the train because of him?

a2 and b2 are both fine.

a1 is not very good. b1 is even worse.

 

[Tarheel]

I think "thanks to" is usually used in the passive voice. Example:

It was thanks to Ed that I met Ned, and he introduced me to Fred.

As for the "because of" examples, you could use the word "fault" there. Example:

It's his fault that I missed the train.

I suggest that you use a different number or letter for each example sentence. (Less confusion that way.)

 

[Tarheel]

I see no passive-voice construction.

OK, but it doesn't seem to me like a normal sentence structure.

You're the expert. Why don't you say what you do see?

 

[jutfrank]

It's called a cleft sentence, Tarheel.

 

[Tarheel]

It's called a cleft sentence, Tarheel.

Thanks!

I remember reading stuff about that. Obviously, I forgot. :-|