is there a difference between using expressions "due to" and "thanks to"? Сan I use it interchangeably?
3 Answers
To my knowledge "thanks to" has always a positive connotation while "due to" is more neutral and can have a negative connotation.
Thanks to my good friend Ellen, I got to the airport on time
The game was delayed due to bad weather.
My desire to act was due to Laurence Olivier's performance in 'Hamlet'.
Since both mean as a result of you could use them interchangeably in most cases but due to sounds more serious and describes the cause of something maybe in a more neutral way. For example using thanks to in the sentence below wouldn't sound quite right.
his death was not due to any lack of care
In addition to the other answers provided, I would add that "due to" has a more impersonal tone. One generally would use "thanks to" for referring to people, e.g. "thanks to my boss I can afford food" vs. "due to my boss I can afford food".