Is "how come" a grammatically permissible phrase to use?

Question

Where did it originate?

Answer 1

There is nothing wrong with this expression, at least in its origins.

The expression is simply an abbreviated version (which became common in 19th American speech) of "How comes it that..? --which you will find in English writings going back at least to Shakespeare. The full form of the question in modern English would be something like "How did it come about that...?" or "How did it come to be...?"

The reason that people would say just "come" (as also in "How comes it?") instead of "come about" is that this is an older sense of the verb "come" that means "become, come to be". Nowadays if we wanted to use a fuller form we would be more likely to ask "How is it that?"

Actually, it was originally a more precise question than our word "why?" "Why" can be used to ask about the PURPOSE of something** (e.g., asking "Why did you say that?" to find out what someone hoped to accomplish by saying it) as well to inquire about the ORIGINS/CAUSE of something (e.g., "Why do we say it this way?" when we want an explanation of the HISTORY of an expression like "how come?") "How come(s it that)?" originally only referred to the origins (in other words you used exactly the right form in the way you framed your question! Congratulations!)

**An older way of specifically asking the purpose (or end), is "wherefore" (meaning 'for what [purpose]?') But, of course, we don't always make nice distinctions like this.

Answer 2

No, it's not considered proper English. It originates from 'how comes', in a sentence: 'How comes this to be?' But shortened like that it is not actually grammatically correct.

Answer 3

It is a grammatical blunder. I thing it originated from German immigrants into Europe.

Answer 4

NO!!! It makes my skin crawl when people use that phrase.

Answer 5

Who cares, as long as its understandable