Stevie Wonder – How Come, How Long", Austriancharts.at – Babyface feat. You can't change it and have it sound natural. Why wouldn't magically gifted individuals be forcibly conscripted? Shouldn't it be 'How come is it' ? A truck driver went three blocks the wrong way down a one-way street with out breaking the law. The teacher was in an orphanage school. both can be used. " The bus comes every fifteen minutes. " How to respond to requests to work "for exposure"? Simplifies the stress of saying how and come separately. How to say “does this make a difference?” more formally? How come I can't buy a toilet that reports how much water it has used today, this month, this year? Converting Strings to Decimals (Gone Wrong), Please explain this answer: “Fruit from Panama about 20 times.”. I think that in Russell's day, though this form was in general obsolete, how comes it had survived as a literary idiom. – Sandra Eckelhöfer Feb 9 '18 at 5:02 Stevie Wonder – How Come, How Long", Ultratop.be – Babyface feat. It just doesn't sound right, maybe because I am not a native speaker. In the example, the speaker probably disagrees that the statement's an acceptable solution. My understanding is that it is just an informal introductory phrase equal to why is it this/that way as in. It was released as the third single from his album The Day. 3. The lyrics deal with physical abuse, regarding a woman killed by her husband after tremendous physical abuse. It may or may ask or inquire about reasons, causes, or purposes for things. You can't change it and have it sound natural. Thomas was caught stealing 27 times in one year, yet he was never arrested. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Cookie Policy, Privacy Policy, and our Terms of Service. How come is short for how did it come about that and dates from the mid-1800s; how so, short for how is it so or how is it that , dates from about 1300. However, there are also instances wherein they cannot be substituted for one another. or it depends on the context? No, not really. (chance, opportunity) " A hurricane is coming! " rev 2020.10.12.37797, The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, English Language & Usage Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site, Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, Learn more about hiring developers or posting ads with us. What does “It is not everyone who has your passion for dead leaves ” mean? This video received a nomination for Best R&B Video at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, which was awarded to "I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy (Sean Combs) featuring Faith Evans and 112. here has gotten good answers to this inquiry: one answer here, a couple more there, plus some good comments here. I think its more often used when you want to disagree with the following statement.