Help/Why is...

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Help/Why is...
Message from trauzeur posted on 06-01-2016 at 10:15:41 (D | E | F)
Hello !
Please could you help with this phrase I came across this morning while reading a book.
Thank you.
Why is that people can't change ?
My problem is , I would like to know if we can also say :why can't people change ?
Are the two questions the same ?

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Edited by lucile83 on 06-01-2016 10:23

Re: Help/Why is... from lucile83, posted on 06-01-2016 at 10:32:14 (D | E)
Hello,

Why is that people can't change? is more informal than Why can't people change?
You can read below a few other ways of meaning the same thing:
Why does it happen that ...?
How does it happen that ...?
How come ...?
How can it be that ...?
What kind of a world is it where ...?
etc.

Re: Help/Why is... from gerondif, posted on 06-01-2016 at 12:10:03 (D | E)
Herllo,
I think there is a word missing:
Why is it that people can't change ?

Of course, if you consider that : "People can't change! Why is that ?" could become: "Why is that that people can't change ?" and if you miss out the second that, you end up with your sentence: "Why is that people can't change ?" But I find it awkward because my brain originally didn't decide which "that " was missing, which is why "it" would do the job and avoid a repetition of that.

examples of that structure found on google to complete the following post:
"Why is it that in India saying 'I love you' is not as big a deal .."
Why is it that I love her............
why is it that - Traduction française – Linguee
Link

Re: Help/Why is... from lucile83, posted on 06-01-2016 at 12:35:00 (D | E)
Hello

Why is that is sufficient here.No need to add 'it'.
Why: asking for reasons
When we ask for reasons in speaking, we can use the phrase why is that? In informal conversations we often say why’s that?:
A:Look, the moth is attracted to the light.
B:Why is that?
A:I’m not sure.
A:She’s not going to college this year.
B:Why’s that?
A:She says she wants to travel for a while.
Link

Re: Help/Why is... from trauzeur, posted on 06-01-2016 at 15:24:28 (D | E)
Hello !

Thank you all for your replies !
But I must say that the phrase was : Why is it that people can't change ? I missed out the word "it".But as I imagine there is no big difference unless I got it wrong.

Re: Help/Why is... from lemagemasque, posted on 06-01-2016 at 15:36:33 (D | E)
Hello!

"Why is that people can't change?" sounds good to me.
Link

~~However, I disagree with lucile's latest post. The explanation is right but is off the topic since trauzer doesn't talk about the demonstrative.~~
I did a bit of searching and I think this comes from "the reason why is that" (or "that's why").

See you!

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Edited by lemagemasque on 07-01-2016 18:24

Re: Help/Why is... from lucile83, posted on 06-01-2016 at 21:42:30 (D | E)
Hello lemage
Why is that you say I am off the topic??
I don't understand your problem. You could have guessed I was answering gerondif's message.

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