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Glathberif Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Difference between "What ... for?" and "Why?".
Hello,
I'm a French student who currently learns English. But, one thing my teacher said intrigued me.
He said that we must use "Why?" when we want to know the reason as in "Why did she refuse?" (Answer: "Because...").
And "What ... for?" when we want to know the purpose as in "What did you send that letter for?" (Answer: "To...").
However, I've searched on the Internet to understand the nuance and almost everybody says they're both interchangeable. Wiktionary even says that "What ... for?" is a colloquial form of "Why?", and my french-english dictionary gives me the same translation for both, without any explanation. I'm a bit confused, now...
I'm a French student who currently learns English. But, one thing my teacher said intrigued me.
He said that we must use "Why?" when we want to know the reason as in "Why did she refuse?" (Answer: "Because...").
And "What ... for?" when we want to know the purpose as in "What did you send that letter for?" (Answer: "To...").
However, I've searched on the Internet to understand the nuance and almost everybody says they're both interchangeable. Wiktionary even says that "What ... for?" is a colloquial form of "Why?", and my french-english dictionary gives me the same translation for both, without any explanation. I'm a bit confused, now...
Top answer
Quoi -What Porquoi - Why You teacher is correct. They aren't interchangable. You could ask the similar questions but change these words and you will get very different answers.
- Quoi -What Porquoi - Why You teacher is correct.
- They aren't interchangable.
- You could ask the similar questions but change these words and you will get very different answers.
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9 Answers
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Quoi -What
Porquoi - Why
You teacher is correct. They aren't interchangable. You could ask the similar questions but change these words and you will get very different answers.
Porquoi - Why
You teacher is correct. They aren't interchangable. You could ask the similar questions but change these words and you will get very different answers.
00
Yes, but "What ... for?" is translated by "pourquoi" too in my dictionary. And it seems to me we could get the same kind of answer.
"What did she send that letter for?" - "To remind him of his promise".
"Why did she send that letter?" - "To remind him of his promise."
Wouldn't it mean the same thing?
"Why did she refuse?" - "Because it was a stupid idea."
"What
"What did she send that letter for?" - "To remind him of his promise".
"Why did she send that letter?" - "To remind him of his promise."
Wouldn't it mean the same thing?
"Why did she refuse?" - "Because it was a stupid idea."
"What
00
Hi,
They are interchangeable in some cases, but I agree that 'what for' does carry a suggestion of purpose.
eg 'Why does water freeze below zero degrees?' is fine,
but ' What does water freeze below zero degrees for?'
They are interchangeable in some cases, but I agree that 'what for' does carry a suggestion of purpose.
eg 'Why does water freeze below zero degrees?' is fine,
but ' What does water freeze below zero degrees for?'
00
Long story short, Wiktionary got it right--sort of. This basically defaults to the debate of ending sentences in prepositions. If you end a sentence in a preposition unnecessarily, the preposition shouldn't be there. (e.g., Where are you at? should just be Where are you?) Some say What for? (which ends in a preposition) is unnecessary because it means pretty much the exact sam
00
I'm not a native speaker, so I'd be glad to get feedback on my thoughts about this.
It seems to me that when people use the "what for" construction, they're usually implying that they believe the action they're asking about is unnecessary or foolish or puzzling, that is, they have a negative attitude towards it (even if just slightly negative).
So for "What did she send that lett
It seems to me that when people use the "what for" construction, they're usually implying that they believe the action they're asking about is unnecessary or foolish or puzzling, that is, they have a negative attitude towards it (even if just slightly negative).
So for "What did she send that lett
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They are interchangeable only in some cases. Consider:Why is the girl crying? Because she is sad./Because she wants a computer. (reason/purpose)What is she crying for? Because she wants a new computer. (purpose).
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Why = Pourquoi
What for = Pour quoi
Same in French and in English
Meme chose en Francais comme en Anglais
What for = Pour quoi
Same in French and in English
Meme chose en Francais comme en Anglais
00
The difference is in reason and purpose. And this gives different answers.
Compare:
Why did you hit him? Because I was in bad mood
And
What did you hit him for? To get him out of my way.
So If you ask "why", you probably want to know the reason, what caused the action, or what preceded the action.
If you ask "what for", you probably want to know the purpose of the acti
Compare:
Why did you hit him? Because I was in bad mood
And
What did you hit him for? To get him out of my way.
So If you ask "why", you probably want to know the reason, what caused the action, or what preceded the action.
If you ask "what for", you probably want to know the purpose of the acti
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