相似英语词汇辨析57：due to，owing to

57 due to，owing to

这一对词组都表示“因为”、“由于”之意，但用法和使用场合有所不同。

在标准英语里，due to只能用以引导形容词短语，不可引导副词短语。例如：
Our delay was due to heavy traffic．
Mistakes due to carelessness may have serious consequences．
在第一例中，due to引导的短语在句中作表语，用在 verb“to be”之后；在第二例中，due to引导的短语作定语，修饰前面的主语mistakes。主张语言纯正者（purists）认为，due to不能引导副词短语，因此，下列句中的 due to应改为 owing to或 because of：
Due to ill health，he could not attend the meeting
由于健康不佳，他不能参加会议。
事实上，在现代英语中，due to也经常用以引导副词短语，下面数句均摘自英美刊物：
Due to the weather，the flight was cancelled．
He failed due to carelessness．
The population of Pennsylvania increased from 50，000 in 1730 to more than 200，000 in 1763，due in large part to the thousands of Scotch－Irish．
…in America，where women began to predominate from pioneer times，due to their scarcity and greater demands．
Owing to如同 because of或 on account of一样，是个介词，只能引导副词短语。例：
Owing to the rain，they could not come．
由于下雨，他们不能来了。
Owing to a traffic hold-up，I missed my flight．
由于交通堵塞，我赶不上航班。
The project fell through because of poor planning．
工程告吹是因为缺乏周详策划。
The university faced a cost overrun on account of miscalculation．
大学经费超支是因为预计错误。
上面提过，在今日英语中，以上的 owing to/because of/on account of都可以用due to代替。