Thanks and Thanks to!

Hello World!

It is quite often that my ‘thanks to’ is mistaken for gratitude 🙂

The word thanks is used to express grateful feelings. But the usage of the word in conjunction with the preposition ‘to’ changes the meaning we are trying to pass on. The misconception of the word is commonly witnessed when used as an idiom.

Noun: 
Thanks – An expression of gratitude
Examples:
1. They expressed their thanks to the organizers.
2. He wrote a letter of thanks to the hospital.

Idiom: 
Thanks to – Because of; On account of
This can either be used to express gratitude or blame. It purely depends on the context.
Examples:
1. The baby is awake, thanks to you and your shouting.
Gratitude would be the last feeling that a mother who put her baby to sleep after a big struggle, would be feeling towards the one who woke her baby up! 🙂 So here, she expresses her disapproval.
2. It is thanks to Sandra that I heard about the job.
It is here, an acknowledgement of a favor done by somebody.

‘Due to’ can alternatively be used for ‘Thanks to’. While ‘Thanks to’ is usually associated with politeness, unless used sarcastically, the former can have both a negative and a positive connotation. (The words due and thanks are NOT interchangeable though!)
Examples:
Case 1: Interchanging ‘Thanks to’ and ‘Due to’
We postponed our trip due to heavy rain.
We postponed our trip thanks to heavy rain.
Case 2: Interchanging ‘Thanks’ and ‘Due’
I got the job thanks to Sandra.
I got the job due to Sandra.
 While Case 1 is acceptable, Case 2 does not make sense. It is just an incredibly subtle difference!

Many thanks to you readers, for stopping by! 🙂