Chunk: how-come
Formulaic Unit
Meaning: A highly common informal alternative to "why." It asks for the reason or cause behind a situation. Note that it does not use question word order (auxiliary inversion) like standard "why" questions.
💬 Contextual Examples
- How come you didn't show up to the meeting yesterday?
- How come it's raining when the forecast predicted sunshine?
🎴 Interactive Web Practice (Click to Reveal)
Practice 1: How ______ you are always late on Mondays?
Answer:
come
Practice 2: ______ come nobody told me that the deadline was changed?
Answer:
How
🔗 Knowledge Base Connections
- 🔑 Parent Keyword: how