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Wed 1 Aug, 2018 08:30 am
Hi.
It's absolutely boiling out there and I hope all of you stay healthy and cool.
While talking about meeting deadlines, a friend of mine said
that he had failed quite often to turn in his assignments before deadlines,
and then this is what he wrote down,
'All these failures are due to my ability.'
Doesn't it sound awkward?
I'm familair with this pattern,
Due to something, S + V.
Here are the examples I can think of.
Due to the heavy traffic, I wasn't able to make it on time.
Due to the injury, he needed some medical treatment.
(Well, I'm not quite sure what I made up sounds okay.)
Anyway, I know, native speakers use this pattern,
- Due to a noun(nouns), Subject + Verb, OR
Subject + Verb due to a noun(nouns).
What my buddy took is, unlike the usual one,
'A is due to B'.
- The failures are due to my ability.
- The accident is due to your mistake.
You native speakers don't use that pattern, do you?
Please share your thoughts.
I'd be so happy to see any comments.
Thank you.
@SMickey,
There's nothing wrong with the sentence structure ... if used in a casual setting (between friends or coworkers for instance).
'All these failures are due to my ability.'
His execution in this sentence could have been polished a bit.
'All these failures are due to my inability to ____________ (verb plus remainder of sentence).
EX. 'All these failures are due to my inability to focus on the task at hand.
or
'All these failures are due to my inability to find appropriate primary sources for the research project.
The accident is due to your mistake.
This very direct sentence is fine and gets its point across well (but I'd worry more about its aggressiveness towards the recipient more than the grammatical nature of the sentence ... at least in a professional setting).
@SMickey,
On it's own it doesn't make sense, it means the opposite, but even then more is needed.
All these failures are due to my
inability to concentrate/meet deadlines/add up etc.
Or if he wanted to be ironic he could still use ability.
'All these failures are due to my ability to go out and party/drink heavily/spend hours playing computer games etc. when I have a deadline to meet.
@izzythepush,
izzythepush wrote:
On it's own it doesn't make sense, it means the opposite, but even then more is needed.
It could make sense if elaborated on (and the person speaking is some kind of psychopath like Glen Quagmire).
'All these failures are due to my ability to sexually attract all the secretaries in the firm. They never leave me alone.'
The sentence works ... but in a outlandish, absurd way that no one really should use.
@tsarstepan,
We crossed, I didn't see your post until after I'd made mine. I think what I said about being ironic covers what you've just said.
I had to think who Glen Quagmire is, I don't think he's a psychopath, just a randy bastard.
@tsarstepan,
Thank you. I got it.
Your explanation about 'The accident is due to your mistake.' was interesting. It made me smile. You seem like such a nice guy.
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