Question about English US. Feel free to just provide example sentences. Report copyright infringement. The owner of it will not be notified. Only the user who asked this question will see who disagreed with this answer.
Read more comments. Why don't you is specifically referring to an action that you think the person you're speaking to should do. Incognito Incognito 1, 4 4 gold badges 10 10 silver badges 19 19 bronze badges. In German, you can do something similar: wieso literally "how so" in place of warum "why". There's a lot of things English gets from German, that could be the reason. I believe "How come? English also has "what for", which can be used instead of "why" in certain places. Kosmonaut: In German, you could also say weshalb roughly "on whose part" , weswegen roughly "because of what" , or even, if you wanted to be funky, wes Grundes roughly "on what reason's behalf".
Show 3 more comments. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. I agree about formality, but not about confrontation: I would put them the other way round. Am difference: "how come" is generally less common in the UK, so when it is used it tends to be "marked" as linguists say i.
USA thang - yes it would be unusual to hear a British person ask: 'how come we eat breakfast? Whereas not unusual to hear them say "How come the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? I don't know why that is so. I'm in the 'how come can be softer' school. I agree with Colin that it's marked in the UK, but, in the UK and with the right intonation, for a gentle chiding rather than a fairly stark confrontation.
Imagine Snape using "How come you're late, Potter? Add a comment. There are answers here that are close, but claim that "how come" is a contraction. Community Bot 1. Jon Hanna Jon Hanna That's an interesting way of looking at it. Can you give an example of 'Why-asking for an outcome'. I think "how come" implies it could be a coincidence while "why" implies an intention. Bill Ingram Bill Ingram 3 3 bronze badges. I have been thinking on this for a while Brian Hooper They have absolutely different answers and cannot be confused with each other.
If we look into the English dictionary meanings and usages of these two words, they have many differences, but the main difference is in the questions they answer. By what manner? For example, How did it happen? To what degree? For example, How hurt is he? In what condition?
For example, How is she? What is the meaning or effect? For example, How should he understand her actions? The way to use a name or title.
For example, How should one address the queen? The price or the quantity. For example, How much are the apples? How do you sell bananas? By numbers or by weight? Condition, for example, She does not mind how you do it, just do it right.
However, for example, She can sing how she likes.
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