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Sanz Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

how come...

0 Hi, I saw in a book that 01i00how come02i00 is a question word, however I've never seen some sentence where it's used, could you gimme some examples please? Thank you! 0-
  

Top answer

0Hi Sanz,02br 02br 01font 00I saw in a book that 01i 00how come02i 00 is a question word, however I've never seen some sentence where it's used 02font 02br 02br 00It's a very informal slang expression meaning 'why'? It's the kind of thing you might say to your friends but not in a job interview, and would not use in your good writing. 02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive 0-

— Clive

  • 0Hi Sanz,02br 02br 01font 00I saw in a book that 01i 00how come02i 00 is a question word, however I've never seen some sentence where it's used 02font 02br 02br 00It's a very informal slang expression meaning 'why'?
  • It's the kind of thing you might say to your friends but not in a job interview, and would not use in your good writing.
  • 02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive 0-
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8 Answers
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0Hi Sanz,02br
02br
01font00I saw in a book that 01i00how come02i00 is a question word, however I've never seen some sentence where it's used 02font02br
02br
00It's a very informal slang expression meaning 'why'? It's the kind of thing you might say to your friends but not in a job interview, and w
0
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0 Thanks again Clive!!! if you know Spanish then 01b01i00how come...?02i02b00 is equivalent to 01i01b00¿Cómo es que....?02b02i00 0-
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0Hi Sanz,02br
02br
00Yes, in English you can also say 'How is it that . . . '02br
02br
00Clive0-
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0Clive,02br
02br
00One more question : would you agree that 'how come' has a connotation of surprise or even disbelief, whereas 'why' is more neutral ?02br
00Or am I just imagining this ?02br
00Thanks for your informed opinion !02br
00Waïti.0-
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Waïti12cite10Clive,12br
12br
10One more question : would you agree that 'how come' has a connotation of surprise or even disbelief, whereas 'why' is more neutral ?12br
10Or am I just imagining this ?12br
10Thanks for your informed opinion !12br
10Waïti.12br
12br
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0Hi guys,02br
02br
00Yes, I agree that 'how come' often expresses surprise or disbelief in this way. 02br
02br
00However, 'why' can also be used to express this. It is also used not only in informal but also in formal contexts.02br
02br
00Best wishes, Clive0-
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0 How come is also very informal and is used a lot by children in contexts where an adult would stick to why. 0-
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0 Thanks a lot to everyone! You're amazing people! 0-
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