How do I stop it raining

[Talab1234]

In Harry Potter, one of the characters says:

“How do I stop it raining?”

Is this correct?

 

[emsr2d2]

If they want to cast a spell to stop it raining, it's a perfectly good question. What did you think might be wrong with it?

 

[Barque]

I can also imagine it being said by a regular ordinary person who's just frustrated that it's not stopped raining.

Edit - On second thoughts I think I'd expect "How do I stop the rain?"

 

[Talab1234]

If they want to cast a spell to stop it raining, it's a perfectly good question. What did you think might be wrong with it?

Should it not be “How do I stop it from raining?” There seems to be a missing word

 

[Barque]

Should it not be “How do I stop it from raining?” There seems to be a missing word

That's grammatical but sounds a little stiff.

The original works.

 

[Barque]

In a Harry Potter book, one of the characters says:

“How do I stop it raining?”

Is this correct?

Please note the corrections in the quoted text above.

The Harry Potter books were written by a British author. They are among the best selling books in history and have probably been proof-read rigorously. It's very unlikely you'll find a grammatical mistake in any of them (unless intended and meant to be understood as such).

 

[teechar]

Should it not be “How do I stop it from raining?” There seems to be a missing word.

No. There is a potential difference between those two forms: "stop it raining" suggests it's already raining (or that it might rain in the future), whereas "stop it from raining" is more tentative and would suggest that the speaker is trying to prevent a future event. Since, I would imagine, the book's context clarifies what the author means, the first form is adequate.