# "You're what you eat" - why does that sound wrong? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2012, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061 "2012-11-06T10:40:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/1 "2012-11-06T10:40:40Z")
I noticed this on a refrigerator magnet today and had a knee-jerk chuckle response at the perceived grammar error. Then I thought about it and couldn’t figure out why it was an error. “You are what you eat” is ok, so why does “You’re what you eat” hurt my ears? There are plenty of situations where “you’re” can be used to start off a sentence: You’re right! You’re late. You’re fat/bald/ugly. But in all of these cases the stress seems to be on adjective. In the case of “You are what you eat”, the stress is shifted to the linking verb (are), I suppose to stress the equality of (you = what you eat). Is that why it sounds wrong to make “You are” into a contraction in this case, or is there a grammar rule I’m forgetting about? Are there any other cases where we ought not to use contractions even though it might be grammatically correct to do so? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/2 "2012-11-06T11:24:24Z")
I don’t think it’s ungrammatical, we’re just used to hearing it uncontracted and it sounds more balanced that way. You ARE what you EAT. Take a somewhat similar example: “it is what it is.” “It’s what it is” sounds odd, but “it’s what it looks like” or “it’s what you make of it” don’t, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/3 "2012-11-06T11:33:02Z")
It puts two syllables before “what” and two syllables after it, creating a nice balance. I don’t think there’s much more to it than that. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/4 "2012-11-06T12:00:19Z")
The phrase is meant to use [grammatical parallelism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallelism_(grammar)) to make the connection between being (“are”) and eating (“eat”). If you contract one side it breaks the parallelism. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/5 "2012-11-06T12:01:40Z")
In “You are what you eat” the emphasis is traditionally placed on “ARE”. That gives it epigrammatic weight. It claims to address the issue of personal essence. Contracting “you are” to “you’re” tends to emphasize the word “WHAT” and changes the expression into a boring, if equally true, statement. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/6 "2012-11-06T12:37:36Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Take a somewhat similar example: “it is what it is.” “It’s what it is” sounds odd, but “it’s what it looks like” or “it’s what you make of it” don’t, IMO. My new phrase: “It’s what it’s” ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/7 "2012-11-06T12:57:28Z")
Construction grammar (CxG) deals with phrases like this (mostly idioms). Many grammarians/linguistics in this field (Goldberg and Lakoff spring to mind) would argue that the saying ‘you are what you eat’ exists as one lexical entry in your mental lexicon. This is as opposed to the usual way in which we form sentences, by choosing individual words from the lexicon and putting them together in a grammatical way. It is a ‘fixed expression’, like ‘kicked the bucket’. It would also sound wrong to change other parts of the expression, such as changing ‘eat’ to ‘consume’. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/8 "2012-11-06T13:08:28Z")
What about answering the question “Are you going to sleep soon?” with the response “Yes, I’m”? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/9 "2012-11-06T13:09:45Z")
> [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](#): > > Construction grammar (CxG) deals with phrases like this (mostly idioms). Many grammarians/linguistics in this field (Goldberg and Lakoff spring to mind) would argue that the saying ‘you are what you eat’ exists as one lexical entry in your mental lexicon. This is as opposed to the usual way in which we form sentences, by choosing individual words from the lexicon and putting them together in a grammatical way. > > It is a ‘fixed expression’, like ‘kicked the bucket’. It would also sound wrong to change other parts of the expression, such as changing ‘eat’ to ‘consume’. Yes, but being a “fixed expression,” in this case, is not the only reason why it “sounds” ungrammatical (as opposed to actually being ungrammatical). It’s because the copula is linking to a noun phrase. On the other hand, there are times when contractions will be ungrammatical regardless. For example: \*A: It sure is hot outside, isn’t it? B: \*Yes, it’s. \* Rather than: \*A: It sure is hot outside, isn’t it? B: Yes, it is. \* ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/10 "2012-11-06T14:15:48Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > \*A: It sure is hot outside, isn’t it? > B: \*Yes, it’s. > \* > > Rather than: > > \*A: It sure is hot outside, isn’t it? > B: Yes, it is. > \* You just need a different contraction! _A: Is sure is hot outside, isn’t it? B: Yes, 'tis._ ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/11 "2012-11-06T14:29:04Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Yes, but being a “fixed expression,” in this case, is not the only reason why it “sounds” ungrammatical (as opposed to actually being ungrammatical). It’s because the copula is linking to a noun phrase. I don’t know if this applies to ‘you’re what you eat.’ “You’re what you’ve always wanted to be” "You’re what the french call “les incompetents” “You’re what I’m looking for” All these sound grammatical to me. If ‘You are what you eat’ did not already exist as a popular expression, ‘you’re what you eat’ would sound fine too. Although maybe this is down to your experience of the English language and what you consider grammatical? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/12 "2012-11-06T14:49:16Z")
Yeah, “fixed expressions” can sound wrong when rephrased, even if the rephrasing is perfectly grammatical. You can come up with reverse examples where unpacking the contraction sounds wrong - “All is well that ends well.”? Like the OP’s case, that also breaks the meter of the thing. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/13 "2012-11-06T15:02:03Z")
This was always the stock response whenever I called an old co-worker a pussy. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/14 "2012-11-06T15:04:58Z")
I prefer the maxim _auf Deutsch_: _Man ist was man ißt._ I agree it’s just good parallelism. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/15 "2012-11-06T18:00:31Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > My new phrase: “It’s what it’s” 'Tis what 'tis. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/16 "2012-11-06T18:08:03Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > You just need a different contraction! > > _A: Is sure is hot outside, isn’t it? > B: Yes, 'tis._ Or even more dangerous: _A: Is sure is hot outside, is not it? B: Yes, 'tis._ ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/17 "2012-11-06T20:15:10Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > What about answering the question “Are you going to sleep soon?” with the response “Yes, I’m”? I’ve seen a number of Hong Kong action movies where they used that construction in the English subtitles (or “Yes, it’s.”). ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/18 "2012-11-07T00:27:12Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > This was always the stock response whenever I called an old co-worker a pussy. “Fine. You’re a real piece of shit.” ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/19 "2012-11-07T15:41:51Z")
> [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](#): > > Construction grammar (CxG) deals with phrases like this (mostly idioms). Many grammarians/linguistics in this field (Goldberg and Lakoff spring to mind) would argue that the saying ‘you are what you eat’ exists as one lexical entry in your mental lexicon. This is as opposed to the usual way in which we form sentences, by choosing individual words from the lexicon and putting them together in a grammatical way. > > It is a ‘fixed expression’, like ‘kicked the bucket’. It would also sound wrong to change other parts of the expression, such as changing ‘eat’ to ‘consume’. When young children are learning to speak, they often learn fixed expressions which may seem like they are talking in strings of words, but really it’s just one lexical entry to use the terminology here. For example, playing “peek-a-boo” with my son, he quickly picked up “Here he is” well before he could put two let alone three words together in a string. For him “Here he is” is just one long word. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061/20 "2012-11-07T15:58:51Z")
I’m what I’m and that’s all that I’m, said Popeye the sailor’n. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-what-you-eat-why-does-that-sound-wrong/640061.md?page=2)