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Jackson6612 Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

what does ''on the earth'' mean in ''why on the earth will I do it?''

0Wht does 01i00on the earth02i00 mean in the following sentence?02br
02br
01font01b00Why02b00 01b01i00on the earth02i02b00 01b00will I do it?02b02font0-
  

Top answer

02br 02br 00"Go on vacation to southern Texas in August? You know I hate the heat! "02br 02br 00"Why on earth would you wear that polka dot tie with that striped shirt and checked jacket?

— BarbaraPA

  • 02br 02br 00"Go on vacation to southern Texas in August?
  • You know I hate the heat!
  • "02br 02br 00"Why on earth would you wear that polka dot tie with that striped shirt and checked jacket?
  • "0-
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9 Answers
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0Hi Jackson,02br
02br
00The expression is "why on earth" without the 01i00the02i00.02br
02br
00It's used to express surprise that someone thinks somthing is going to happen/is happening, because there is no good reason for it.02br
02br
00"Go on vacation to southern Texas in August? You know I hate the heat! Why on
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0 01i00on earth02i00 or 01i00in the world02i00 or 01i00ever02i00 is placed after question words as an intensifier expressing surprise and/or perplexity. 01i00ever02i00 is in a higher register than the other two.02br
02br
01i00Why [on earth / in the world / ever] would you color
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0 01b01font00As an intensifier, also consider: "why in Heaven['s name] would you do that?" "Why for the love of [St.] Pete]r] would......", even "why for the love of G_d"...........02font02b00 0-
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0 Good additions to our list!02br
00 Let's leave out the unsavory variants!02br
02br
00 CJ0-
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Philip12cite11b11font10As an intensifier, also consider: "why in Heaven['s name] would you do that?" "Why for the love of [St.] Pete]r] would......", even "why for the love of G_d"...........12font12b12blockquote
11b001:02b00 01font
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Jackson661212cite11blockquote
11cite20Philip22cite21b21font20As an intensifier, also consider: "why in Heaven['s name] would you do that?" "Why for the love of [St.] Pete]r] would......", even "why for the love of G_d"...........22font22b
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0 In case you were wondering,02br
02br
00 A 01i00good-for-nothing02i00 is a lazy person who doesn't like to work.02br
00 A 01i00raise02i00 is an increase in the amount of money that someone is paid to work. (I believe it's a 01i00rise02i00 in BrE.)02br
02br
00 The sentence
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0 01blockquote
01cite10CalifJim12cite11i10on earth12i10 or 11i10in the world12i10 or 11i10ever12i10 is placed after question words as an intensifier expressing surprise and/or perplexity. 11i10ever12i10 is in a higher register than the other two.12br
12b
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0 01blockquote
00But where these intensifiers come from?12blockquote
10 I don't know. I guess they were always there in the English language.02br
02br
00 CJ0-
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