Why was it broken vs Why it was broken

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Why was it broken?' is a question where 'was' is the auxiliary verb and 'it' is the subject. 'Why it was broken' is a noun clause that can be used as a subject or object in a sentence.

Last updated: March 20, 2024 • 3640 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"Why was it broken"

This phrase is used as a question to inquire about the reason something was broken. 'Was' is the auxiliary verb, 'it' is the subject, and 'broken' is the past participle of the verb 'break.'

Examples:

Why was it broken in the first place?
I wonder why was it broken so easily.
Can you explain why was it broken?
Do you know why was it broken?
Why was it broken beyond repair?

Show examples from the web [+]

Apr 9, 2012 ... But why was it broken? “Over the last two years he was there,” one former player said, “the players had taken complete control of the team.”.
Why was it broken? How was it broken? My friend, it was broken before the battle .' 'Oh!' said his friend, with a sort of forlorn jocularity; 'and pray where is the ...
Why was it broken? How was it broken? My friend, it was broken before the battle .” “Oh!” said his friend, with a sort of forlorn jocularity; “and pray where is the ...
Aug 19, 2014 ... ... and 1 year warranties on new Macs. But … it's refurbished. What was wrong with it? Why was it broken to begin with? Will it break again?

Alternatives:

Why did it break?
What caused it to break?
How did it get broken?
What led to its breakage?
What made it break?

This phrase is correct but less commonly used in English.

"Why it was broken"

This phrase is a noun clause that can function as a subject or object in a sentence. It provides information about the reason for something being broken.

Show examples from the web [+]

Jun 4, 2014 ... ... all we have to know is that the law is effectual regardless of reason why it was broken. It just makes it worse that Obama broke Obama's law.
Aug 22, 2014 ... We had to rollback and it took a few hours to figure out why it was broken and how this happened could happen since we did not change ...
... wondered why the middle matzah and not the other two were broken, and why it was broken into two uneven parts with the larger part saved for the afikoman.
Aug 17, 2014 ... From the transcript here, there was this bit of dialogue about why it was broken in the first place: ADRIC: So the chameleon circuit's stuck?

Alternatives:

The reason why it was broken
The cause of it being broken
The explanation for it being broken
The fact that it was broken
The incident of it being broken

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Why was it broken vs Why it was broken

"Why was it broken"

"Why it was broken"

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