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I came across following sentence.

Why on earth, has he not com.

I think it should be

Why has he not come on earth

But book says first is also correct.

Can anyone tell me logic/rules

1 Answer 1

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Well, "how, what, why, etc. on earth..." is a common phrase.

Cambridge dictionary says that it is

used when you are extremely surprised, confused, or angry about something.

Collins says it

is used for emphasis in questions that begin with words such as 'how', 'why', 'what', or 'where'. It is often used to suggest that there is no obvious or easy answer to the question being asked.

When someone says

Why on earth, has John not come? or "Why on earth ... ?"

they are implying that they can't think of a good reason why John has not come yet or come at all. They are looking for that one reason on earth which is not obvious to them (to the speaker).

What on earth are you doing here?

This is often used when the speaker is surprised, confused, or angry that the person they are talking to is there at that place (there is no obvious or good reason for them to be there - at least the speaker can't think of one immediately). A female teacher might say that to her male student when he shows up at her door in the middle of the night - drunk.

Mother: "Who on earth has finished all the peanut butter in one night?" - She knows its either one of her 3 rascals or her husband. But she means that no reasonable person would eat a whole jar of peanut butter in one night.

If you want more details, see this post in EL&U: What is the meaning of phrase “Why on earth”?

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