Prepositions: cause and result

 

Prepositions are words that connect and build relationships between other words, like nouns and verbs. One type of relationship is cause and effect (or result).

 

In the example below, ‘because of ‘ is a prepositional phrase. The first part of the sentence is the cause, and the second part is the effect. 

• Because of his criminal record, he couldn’t find a job.  
• Hard work leads to success.

In the above example, the preposition ‘to‘ is added to the verb ‘lead‘ to create the cause and effect meaning. Hard work is the cause, and success is the effect.  

 

In the example below, the preposition ‘for‘ is joined by the reason to create the cause and effect meaning. In this sentence, horrible traffic is the cause and the late arrival is the effect.

• The reason for my late arrival is the horrible traffic.  

 

Here are more examples of prepositional phrases that can create the cause and effect meaning.

 

Compound Preposition Phrase	Example
As a result of	As a result of his hard work, he received a very generous scholarship.
Because of	Because of the storm, I could not leave my house.
As a consequence of	As a consequence of not going to class, he failed the exam.
Due to	Due to his poor attendance, he was not able to take the final exam.

 

Here are examples of verbs followed by prepositions that create the same meaning.

 

Verb + preposition	Example
To lead to	Her drug abuse is going to lead to going to jail.
To result from	His difficulty at school results from his unfortunate situation at home.
To result in	The bus accident resulted in the deaths of 15 people.

 

Finally, here are examples of nouns followed by prepositions that create the cause effect meaning.

 

Noun + preposition	Example
Reason for	The reason for his poor grades is his lack of motivation.
Result of	A result of our decision not to buy food was that we ran out of food.
Effect of	An effect of the long winter was an increase in the number of people with depression.
Causes of	The cause of the fire was determined to be a cigarette.
Consequence of	A consequence of not paying your taxes is not having access to public services.

 

Note: After prepositions, it is always necessary to use a noun. This may require changing a verb from a full form (‘pay‘) to the gerund form (‘paying‘). A consequence of not paying your bills on time is having your electricity cut off.