1. Context

Days 8 and 9 locked Priority 1 (singular subject + -s) and Priority 2 (articles a/the/Ø). Day 10 targets Priority 3: due to / because of / because — the third recurring Week 1 register trap (“due to it gives one great freedom” was wrong because due to must follow a noun / form of be, not a clause). Rule taught:

  • because → followed by a clause (subject + verb)
  • because of → followed by a noun phrase
  • due to → follows a form of be, or a noun; means “caused by”; it does NOT start a sentence as a reason clause.

2. The Main Drill (10 sentences)

Coach instruction: fill each gap with because / because of / due to.

  1. Remote work is effective ___ it gives people freedom.
  2. The cancellation was ___ bad weather.
  3. He was tired ___ he had worked all night.
  4. The poor impression was ___ the rude receptionist.
  5. We met in the lobby ___ my friend was not allowed upstairs.
  6. ___ the heavy rain, the match was postponed.
  7. His success is ___ years of hard work.
  8. I failed the test ___ a lack of preparation.
  9. She left early ___ she felt unwell.
  10. The delay was ___ a traffic accident.

My answers (verbatim): “1 because; 2 due to; 3 because; 4 due to; 5 because; 6 due to; 7 because of; 8 due to; 9 because; 10 due to”

Coach’s grading: 9/10. Miss: #6. “Due to” cannot open a sentence as a reason clause. Fix: “Because of the heavy rain, the match was postponed.” (or move it: “The match was postponed due to the heavy rain.”) All other 9 correct.

3. Spaced Recall — Week 1 Vocabulary

The user returned a recall sentence using the three Week 1 words: “The staff, especially the receptionist , made an good impression to me.”

Coach’s corrections on that sentence:

  • “an good” → “a good” (use a before consonant sound /g/; an only before vowel sounds — this is the Day 9 article rule).
  • “impression to me” → “impression on me” (collocation is make an impression ON someone).
  • staff and receptionist both used correctly.

Corrected version: “The staff, especially the receptionist, made a good impression on me.”

4. Lock-in Set (5 sentences)

Coach gave a 5-sentence set to confirm the sentence-initial due to trap is dead.

  1. ___ the storm, the flight was cancelled.
  2. The flight was cancelled ___ the storm.
  3. ___ he was late, we started without him.
  4. The delay was ___ a mechanical fault.
  5. ___ her illness, she missed the meeting.

My answers (verbatim): “1 because of; 2 due to; 3 because; 4 due to; 5 because of.”

Coach’s grading: 5/5. All correct. #1 and #5 confirm sentence-initial reason now uses because of (noun phrase), never due to. #2 and #4 confirm due to still correctly follows be.

5. Day 10 Wrap-up

  • Priority 3 (due to / because of / because) LOCKED at 5/5 lock-in after a 9/10 main drill.
  • All three recurring Week 1 grammar traps are now drilled dead: subject-verb agreement (Day 8), articles (Day 9), due to/because (Day 10).
  • Next phase: move from pure grammar to SKILLS — GT Task 1 letter re-attempt (self-check tone + all 3 bullets before correction), timed Reading T/F/NG, Speaking Part 2 stamina, Listening once-only.