Comment ça se fait/Comment se fait-il que... ? = How come/How is it that...? (French Questions)

Take the fastest path to fluent French

The expression How come? can be expressed in different ways in French, depending on the level of speech as well as whether it's followed by a conjugated verb or not.

How to say 'how come?' in French

How come?

Elle est déprimée. - Comment ça se fait?She is depressed. - How come?

Elle est déprimée. - Comment cela se fait-il ?She is depressed. - How come?

To express How come? on its own, there are two ways:

- The informal, familiar phrase:
Comment ça se fait ?

- the more elegant, formal phrase: 
Comment cela se fait-il ?

-> Note the use of inverted question form to emphasise the elegant structure.

 

How come [something happens]? / How is it that [something happens]? 

Comment ça se fait qu'elle soit si méchante ?How come she is so mean?

Comment se fait-il qu'elle soit si méchante?How come she is so mean?

Comment ça se fait que vous ayez tous les yeux bleus?How come you all have blue eyes?

Comment se fait-il que vous ayez tous les yeux bleus ?How come you all have blue eyes?

To express how come / how is it that ...? followed by a conjugated verb in French, you can either use:

- the more familiar 
Comment ça se fait que ... ?
OR
- the more elegant 
Comment se fait-il que ... ?

-> Note the use of inverted question form to emphasise the elegant structure.

ATTENTION:

In both cases, the conjugated verb after que will be in Le Subjonctif Présent or Passé.

 

Case of Comment cela se fait que ... ?

Comment cela se fait que ... ? can be heard sometimes, however it's grammatically incorrect as the way to construct this form is by using the inversion -il, and NOT cela.
Same issue with Comment cela se fait-il que ... ? which is simply redundant, as it literally means How come this that ...?

 

Read: how to conjugate the subjunctive for regular verbs.

Want to make sure your French sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »

Learn more about these related French grammar topics

Examples and resources

Elle est déprimée. - Comment ça se fait?She is depressed. - How come?
Comment ça se fait que tu parles français? How come you speak French?
Comment se fait-il qu'elle soit si méchante?How come she is so mean?
Comment se fait-il que tu parles français?How come you speak French?
Elle est déprimée. - Comment cela se fait-il ?She is depressed. - How come?
Comment ça se fait qu'elle soit si méchante ?How come she is so mean?
Comment se fait-il que vous ayez tous les yeux bleus ?How come you all have blue eyes?
Comment ça se fait que vous ayez tous les yeux bleus?How come you all have blue eyes?
I'll be right with you...