How came that widow in?

[laurinha88]

does it make any sense to you guys?

[Bennevis]

It's archaic.

[emsr2d2]

And it means "How did that widow come in?" or (presumably) "How did she enter?"

[laurinha88]

Is it possible to change the positon of interrogative phrases like that?
can anyone give me some examples?
thanks guys!

[birdeen's call]

Is it possible to change the positon of interrogative phrases like that?
can anyone give me some examples?
thanks guys!

No, not in English as it is spoken today. I can give you examples but they're very old. One comes from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Tale of Melibee.

Allas, my lord," quod she, "why make ye youreself for to lyk a fool?

Another comes from William Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing.

What heard you him say else?

Remember that we would not say these things this way today.

[laurinha88]

"why make ye youreself for to lyk a fool" you sure that's right? can you translate it?sorry i'm dumb huahauahauh

[birdeen's call]

"why make ye youreself for to lyk a fool" you sure that's right? can you translate it?sorry i'm dumb huahauahauh

It's not correct today. It is a very old sentence. It's over 600 years old. The language in which it was written is called Middle English. The sentence was translated as follows by Gerard NeCastro:

"Alas, my lord," she said, "why do you permit yourself to act like such a fool?"

As you can see it is "do you permit" in the translation, not "permit you". This would be incorrect in present day English.

[emsr2d2]

"why make ye youreself for to lyk a fool" you sure that's right? can you translate it?sorry i'm dumb huahauahauh

Oh yes, we're quite sure it's right. If you would like many more examples of Middle English, click HERE

It will take you to an entire website of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the original language. Some of us (of a certain age) were required to study Chaucer for a couple of years at school. I can assure you that the majority of us did not enjoy it!

[bhaisahab]

Oh yes, we're quite sure it's right. If you would like many more examples of Middle English, click HERE

It will take you to an entire website of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the original language. Some of us (of a certain age) were required to study Chaucer for a couple of years at school. I can assure you that the majority of us did not enjoy it!

Chaucer was in the English Literature course for GCSE 2009/2010.

[BobK]

Oh yes, we're quite sure it's right. If you would like many more examples of Middle English, click HERE

It will take you to an entire website of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the original language. Some of us (of a certain age) were required to study Chaucer for a couple of years at school. I can assure you that the majority of us did not enjoy it!

Speak for yourself. I enjoyed the first two years so much that I went on for another two!

b

PS I'm surprised nobody's mentioned context. A widow isn't always a woman whose husband has died - though that is by far the most common meaning. For example, an editor who has read the galley-proofs of a book might - after page make-up - say 'How did this widow get here?' see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widow_%28typesetting%29 .