How come; How is it that ; How did you come to; How come it | WordReference Forums

How come; How is it that ; How did you come to; How come it | WordReference Forums

1. Hi,
   
   "How come" is quite informal and tends to mean "why" - "how come you didn't go to the match last week?" I would think this would be too informal for an essay. I'm not sure it implies that the person did the action on purpose - e.g. "how come she drowned?" is fine but does not have that implication.
   
   "How did you come to" sounds quite formal to me and a bit stilted - "how did you come to be at the scene of the crime?" I would say the meaning is more "how" than "why", although the two things do tend to be related...
   
   "How is it that" sounds a bit stiff to me. I certainly think it would be unusual where you are referring to a person. Again the meaning is more "how" than "why".
   
   "How did that come about / how did it come about that" is another expression in this family - quite common and again means "how".
   
   ATR

    

   Assurancetourix, Nov 21, 2011

   #2

2. misterkModerator

   Boston

   English-American

   Elaborating on Assurancetourix's reply, from an AE perspective:
   
   Agree that "How come" is too informal for an essay, and should be replaced with "why?" And "how come" does not imply agency on the part of the person being questioned. How come they're not having fireworks this year?
   "How did you come to.." is quite common in interview situations. It means "what is the chain of events that led to...?" How did you come to adopt three children from Kenya? How did you come to join our church?
   "How is it that..." is also fairly common in AE. Many times it is used with a tone of annoyance. How is it that every time I need help, you're someplace else? How is it that these meetings always run an hour longer than planned?