misprint halfway down the page?

Sydney B.B2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

misprint halfway down the page?

In the bottom half of the quick lesson it says:

"- the more elegant 

Comment se fait-il que ... ?
-> Note the use of inverted question form to emphasise the elegant structure."  

 

Did you leave out 'cela' between 'Comment' and 'se fait-il'?

Asked 3 months ago
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

The phrase Comment se fait-il que ... ? is correctly formed as it stands. This is a standard and formal way to ask "How is it that ...?" in French. You could add cela (comment cela se fait-il que...) but that would be more verbose and less common.

Joseph A.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Yes, one must leave that out. 

The only possible forms of this constructions are:

Comment ça se fait que...? (Spoken: Comment ça s'fait qu'...?)

Comment se fait-il que...? (Spoken: Comment s'fait-il qu'...?)

This is a fixed expression in french.

Hope this answer helps you!

misprint halfway down the page?

In the bottom half of the quick lesson it says:

"- the more elegant 

Comment se fait-il que ... ?
-> Note the use of inverted question form to emphasise the elegant structure."  

 

Did you leave out 'cela' between 'Comment' and 'se fait-il'?

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