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HSS Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

The Heck

0You'd say, "What the heck did you do?" or "Why the heck did you do that?"02br
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00But how do you add "the heck" to, say, "Whose house did the tornado total?" Would it be, "Whose house the heck did the tornado total"? --- Nawwww, doesn't sound right. I guess you can't use "the heck" in like constructions. Can you? It could be then "Whose house on earth did the tornado total," or something like that, couldn't it?02br
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00Hiro/ Sendai, Japan0-
  

Top answer

0I don't think you can add a polite euphemism into this sentence with any conviction. Don't forget that 'heck' is just replacing 'h ell'. Now the only natural place to put a swear word in that situation is before the word tornado.

— Nona the brit

  • 0I don't think you can add a polite euphemism into this sentence with any conviction.
  • Don't forget that 'heck' is just replacing 'h ell'.
  • Now the only natural place to put a swear word in that situation is before the word tornado.
  • And you don't use h elling or hecking.
  • You'll have to imagine another 'ing' word in there; one without a polite euphamism unless you consider 'effing' a word to use.
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10 Answers
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0I don't think you can add a polite euphemism into this sentence with any conviction. Don't forget that 'heck' is just replacing 'h ell'. Now the only natural place to put a swear word in that situation is before the word tornado. And you don't use h elling or hecking. You'll have to imagine another 'ing' word in there; one without a polite euphamism unless you consider 'effing' a word to use. B
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0Hi, Nona.02br
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00How about whose alone? Then you could say, "Whose the heck ...?", couldn't you?02br
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00Hiro0-
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0 I think the expression you're looking for is02br
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01i00Who the heck's house ...?02i02br
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00 That's the way Americans say it. (I must say, however, in agreement with Nona, that the sentence as a whole is a bit daft. I'm assuming you are only interested in the grammatical properties of 'heck' for the moment.)02br
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0You are quite right about me, Jim. Yes, I was only curious to know if there was a way that "h#$%" or "heck" worked with "whose." But it looks like there is none. Isn't there?02br
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00Would you then say02br
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00Who on earth's house ...?02br
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00Who in the world's house ...?02br
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00etc.?02br
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0 01blockquote
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10Who on earth's house ...?12br
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10Who in the world's house ...?12br
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10Yes. Definitely.12br
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10CJ12br
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0 01blockquote
01cite10HSS12cite12br
10You'd say, "What the heck did you do?" or "Why the heck did you do that?"12br
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10But how do you add "the heck" to, say, "Whose house did the tornado total?" Would it be, "Whose house the heck did the tornado total"? --- Nawwww, doesn't sound right. I guess you can't use "the heck" i
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0You mean you think "Whose house the heck ... " and "Whose house on earth ... " will work, Wampun?02br
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00Hiro02br
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00Sendai, Japan0-
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0Hi Hiro,02br
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00Heck, no! Definitely not.02br
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00Clive0-
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0 01blockquote
01cite10HSS12cite12br
10You mean you think "Whose house the heck ... " and "Whose house on earth ... " will work, Wampun?12br
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10Hiro12br
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10Sendai, Japan12br
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10As Clive firmly stated, no, those examples don't work, Hiro. Notice
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0Yup. Okay. I just wanted to clarify. I was not too sure what "both these" referred to, Wampum. I thought maybe "both these" pointed to the examples in the preceding quote.02br
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00Thank you all for your help02br
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00Hiro02br
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00Sendai, Japan0-
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