# Grammar question: Why cannot I... ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 10, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-why-cannot-i/273960 "2004-11-10T02:58:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-why-cannot-i/273960/1 "2004-11-10T02:58:07Z")
One of the odd things I just noticed about our language is that in certain instances, the abbreviation is a more proper usage than the original word. Example 1: Why can’t I go to the store? Example 2: Why cannot I go to the store? Example 3: Why can I not go to the store? Example 1 sounds perfect, whereas Example 2 sounds totally wrong and Example 3 sounds awkward. Why is that? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-why-cannot-i/273960/2 "2004-11-10T04:45:18Z")
> [@DaveRaver](#): > > One of the odd things I just noticed about our language is that in certain instances, the abbreviation is a more proper usage than the original word. > > Example 1: Why can’t I go to the store? > > Example 2: Why cannot I go to the store? > > Example 3: Why can I not go to the store? > Example 1 sounds perfect, whereas Example 2 sounds totally wrong and Example 3 sounds awkward. Why is that? Not a clue. I do, however, think that the third one sounds fine. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-why-cannot-i/273960/3 "2004-11-10T04:49:54Z")
Example 2 doesn’t sound wrong, per se, just very archaic/poetic; like Stan Rogers in “Lies”. “But why cannot her mirror tell her lies?” I heard it also from my father once or twice in times of great frustration. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-why-cannot-i/273960/4 "2004-11-10T05:23:21Z")
> [@DaveRaver](#): > > One of the odd things I just noticed about our language is that in certain instances, the abbreviation is a more proper usage than the original word. > > Example 1: Why can’t I go to the store? > > Example 2: Why cannot I go to the store? > > Example 3: Why can I not go to the store? > Example 1 sounds perfect, whereas Example 2 sounds totally wrong and Example 3 sounds awkward. Why is that? I’m not a grammarian but I suppose it’s simply that the word \*cannot \* doesn’t fit the usual pattern of negative interrogatives in English. For negative questions we generally use one of two patterns: (1) The more formal _Why - auxiliary verb - subject - not - verb ?_ e.g. Why will she not call? Why did he not come? Why was the sun not shining? Why could they not see? (2) The more colloquial _Why - contracted negative auxiliary verb - subject - verb?_ e.g. Why won’t she call? Why didn’t he come? Why wasn’t the sun shining? Why couldn’t they see? Since \*cannot \* is one word, it can’t be split up into the second pattern above, and thus sounds odd when used in a negative question. ---
**Author:** ![MidnightRadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-why-cannot-i/273960/5 "2004-11-10T05:30:50Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Example 2 doesn’t sound wrong, per se, just very archaic/poetic; like Stan Rogers in “Lies”. “But why cannot her mirror tell her lies?” > > I heard it also from my father once or twice in times of great frustration. Was English your father’s first language? ---
**Author:** ![pasunejen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@pasunejen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pasunejen)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-why-cannot-i/273960/6 "2004-11-10T18:14:02Z")
When you form a question, modal verbs like _can_ move to the opposite side of the subject from where they are in a normal sentence. If negation is attached to the modal in the form of _n’t_, it gets dragged along; if not, it has to stay in its original position (_cannot_ is spelled as one word, but the _not_ doesn’t function syntactically in the same way as the _n’t_). This accounts for the current ungrammaticality of “Why cannot I go to the store?” The awkwardness of “Why can I not go to the store?” is probably due to ambiguity as to what’s being negated–are you not able/allowed to go to the store, or are you allowed to not go to the store? “Why can’t I go to the store?” would be preferred as an unambiguous way of asking the question regarding the former. (I apologize to those who know better if I’ve gotten something wrong…I’m a bit rusty.) - pasunejen, linguist in training ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-why-cannot-i/273960/7 "2004-11-11T00:19:44Z")
> [@MidnightRadio](#): > > Was English your father’s first language? Yes.