MSN: Why is X down right now? Is Twitter back up? Some report issues Why is X down right now?

Understanding the Context

Is Twitter back up? Some report issues "why" can be compared to an old Latin form qui, an ablative form, meaning how. Today "why" is used as a question word to ask the reason or purpose of something. This use might be explained from a formula such as "How does it come that ...".

Key Insights

If you meet an old friend of yours, whom you never expected to meet in town, you can express your surprise by saying: Why, it's Jim! This why in the ... You have to be more careful with the negative of the first question because it is more convoluted: I think "Why isn't it that everybody wants to help me?" would be wrong while "Why doesn't everybody want to help me?" is fine. "Why ...?" vs. "Why is it that ...

Final Thoughts

?" - English Language & Usage Stack ... Why is a just a rather odd wh -word. Its distribution is very limited -- it can only have the word reason as its antecedent, and since it's never the subject it's always deletable. Consequently it behaves strangely, as you and others point out. Can "why" be a conjunction? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange 9 1) Please tell me why is it like that.

[grammatically incorrect unless the punctuation is changed. Please tell me: Why is it like that? The question: "Why is [etc.]" is a question form in English: Why is the sky blue? Why is it that children require so much attention?