prepositions - Cause for vs cause of


I read this sentence somewhere today, but I think that the of would fit better here than for, don't you think?



The cause for the original problem will be analysed in the normal maintenance hours.



I find myself sometimes thinking when I should use for and of and I cannot reach a conclusion. A few guidelines on this subject will be appreciated.



Answer



This ngram would suggest that cause for is not as frequently used as "cause of". "Cause for" seems to mean "a valid reason for", as in "cause for alarm". "Cause of" implies a causal relationship, as in "this is the cause of that".


I personally can't think of many contexts where "cause for" would be appropriate other that "cause for alarm" and phrases similar to it. As Daniel says, similar phrases are "cause for concern", "cause for panic", etc


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