How to use why in a sentence
40 example sentences · adverb, noun, interjection
Why means introducing a complete question. Example: “Why is the sky blue?”
Examples of why by meaning
adverbIntroducing a complete question.
- Why is the sky blue?
- Why did you do that?
- I don’t know why he did that.
adverbWith a negative, used rhetorically to make a suggestion.
- Why don't you ask her out for dinner?
adverbIntroducing a verb phrase (bare infinitive clause).
- Why spend money on something you already get for free?
- Why not tell him how you feel?
adverbIntroducing a noun or other phrase.
- Why him? Why not someone taller?
adverbFor which cause, reason, or purpose.
- That's the reason why I did that.
adverbThe cause, reason, or purpose for which.
- That is why the sky is blue.
- Why most of us volunteer is that we need some fresh air.
- Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily.2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
nounReason.
- A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how.
- I don't want to know the whys or the wherefores of your decision.
- “Being a part of this journey with other ladies, knowing how it changed my life, that’s my why,” she told me.2022 May 11, Sandra E. Garcia, “Butt Lifts Are Booming. Healing Is No Joke.”, in The New York Times Magazine
interjectionAn exclamation used to express pleasant or unpleasant mild surprise, indignation, or impatience.
- Why, that’s ridiculous!
- Why, how kind of you!
- Why yes, that’s true.
More sentences with why
- I've discovered why the TV wasn't working – the plug wasn't in!From the entry in
- It was very singular; I don't know why he did it.From the entry singular
- Why do you always wear a tie? Don't be such a square!From the entry square
- Precisely to get away from you was why I did what I did.From the entry to
- You've been mooning after her forever; why not just ask her out?From the entry moon
- I am not interested in the why, but in the how.From the entry how
- He has a lot of stamina. I suppose that's why he can run for a long time.From the entry stamina
- Your mobile is pants — why don’t you get one like mine?From the entry pants
- He was bent on going to Texas, but not even he could say why.From the entry bent
- I wish I knew why the sewing machine binds up after I use it for a while.From the entry bind
- If union leadership is bought, why should we even pay dues?From the entry bought
- Why don’t you go outside and fly kites, kids? The wind is just perfect.From the entry fly
- Why leave it to chance when a few simple steps will secure the desired outcome?From the entry chance
- Still, it stung when a slightly older acquaintance asked me why I couldn't do any better.From the entry sting
- Why is it that people from the United States use American as their demonym?From the entry demonym
- The lawyer was left in the dark as to why the jury was dismissed.From the entry dark
- Why would you want to play heavy metal at such a low volume?From the entry low
- The only reason why I haven't gone to university is because I can't afford it.From the entry university
- Why don’t we dispense with the formalities? Please call me Al.From the entry call
- The pronoun "it" in "It's a mystery why this happened" is a dummy.From the entry dummy
- It turned out that the program was corrupt - that's why it wouldn't open.From the entry corrupt
- He had like a quintillion excuses for why he couldn't meet his obligation to me.From the entry quintillion
- Why don’t you come shopping for gifts with me, early before the Christmas rush?From the entry shop
Meaning of why
- adverb Introducing a complete question.
- adverb With a negative, used rhetorically to make a suggestion.
- adverb Introducing a verb phrase (bare infinitive clause).
Questions about why in a sentence
- How do you use why in a sentence?
- Why is used as an adverb, noun and interjection. For example: “Why is the sky blue?”
- What is a short sentence with why?
- “Why, that’s ridiculous!”
- What does why mean?
- Why means introducing a complete question.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: why (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “How to use why in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/why. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.