Hi,
Bill,
In
this example, I would have to go with the compound preposition since there is
no verb following the “to” but rather a noun, “lack.”
I read “due to a lack” as a prepositional phrase analogous to “due
to illness” in a sentence like, “He missed work due to illness.”
Regarding
the command infinitive, I generally consider it as part of the finite verb
phrase. Compare “you are to do the homework” with “you
will do the homework” where “will” can substitute for “are
to.” “I have to pay my bills” = “I must pay my
bills.” “She is going to leave soon” = “She will
leave soon.” And so it goes.
Best,
Clint
Clinton
Atchley, Ph.D.
Associate
Professor of English
Box
7652
1100
Henderson Street
Henderson
State University
Arkadelphia,
AR 71999
Phone:
870.230.5276
Email:
[log in to unmask]
Web:
http://www.hsu.edu/atchlec
From: Assembly for the
Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Spruiell,
William C
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 4:08 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Because of vs. due to
The students in one of my (college) grammar classes are
starting to analyze text from “naturally-occurring” sources (as
opposed to textbook examples) and bringing in sentences that stump them so we
can discuss them in class (and so I can repeatedly notice that English is
weird, which anyone who teaches grammar needs to be reminded of as often as
possible). A recent example involved a construction like the following
(something like this may have come up on the list before, but if so, it was
long enough ago that it’s not in my saved folder; apologies if it is
indeed repetition):
These problems were due simply to a lack of water in the surrounding area.
I could think of two analyses off the bat:
(1)
“due” is an adjective being modified by an infinitive phrase (this
is how I usually deal with “able to…” etc.
(2)
“due to” is a compound preposition, analogous to “because
of.”
I used the fact that “simply” is wedged between
“due” and “to” to argue for version #1, since
there’s no parallel example that would involve “because simply
of.”
But… I later realized that examples like the following
don’t sound that strange:
We canceled the game because – and only because – of the
weather.
Does that example strike y’all (you’ns, you
guys, youse) as possible, or have I done the usual linguist trick of cogitating
myself into a corner? I also have to figure out what to do with “command
infinitives” like “You are to do the homework”…
Thanks – Bill Spruiell
To
join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave
the list"
Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/