student asking question

What does “thanks to someone or something” mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

The expression "thanks to" someone means because of or due to someone, the situation happened. In this case, it can be used to express gratitude towards this person. Ex: Thanks to my brother who picked us up, we didn't have to walk there. Ex: Thanks to her help, we got the project done on time. However this expression can also be used to express negative feelings towards someone or something for causing something to happen. Ex: Thanks to the stock market crash, we all lost our jobs. Ex: We were late thanks to you.

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