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Can the word "over" be replaced by "due to" or "because of"?

English Language & Usage Asked by Lợi Tấn Nguyễn on December 22, 2020

One day, I was surfing on the Oxford dictionary so as to look up the meaning of over, when I looked at its meaning, I saw the phrase “I couldn’t hear what he said over the noise of traffic”. So the word “over” is used in this sentence. Can over be replaced by due to?

One Answer

Yes, you could say either

"I couldn't hear what he said over/above the noise of the traffic." or

"I couldn't hear what he said due to/because of the traffic."

Any of those expressions would be perfectly understandable.

The first two, "I could not hear him over/above the traffic," implies that in order for "him" to be heard, "he" would have to make his voice louder than the traffic--his voice would have to rise above the noise of the traffic--in order to be heard by "I".

The second two combinations simply mean that the traffic was too loud--and "he" was too quiet compared to the traffic--for "I" to hear what he was saying.

So, while there may be slight differences in exact meaning, you could say any of these, and no one would be more correct than the other.

Answered by Naomi on December 22, 2020

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