Difference between "where are you from" and "where do you ...

"Where are you from" is more common (at least in U.S. English). In my opinion, this is the preferred option when meeting someone new. The difference is a ... EnglishLanguageLearnersStackExchangeisaquestionandanswersiteforspeakersofotherlanguageslearningEnglish.Itonlytakesaminutetosignup. Signuptojointhiscommunity Anybodycanaskaquestion Anybodycananswer Thebestanswersarevotedupandrisetothetop Home Public Questions Tags Users Unanswered Teams StackOverflowforTeams –Collaborateandshareknowledgewithaprivategroup. CreateafreeTeam WhatisTeams? Teams CreatefreeTeam Teams Q&Aforwork Connectandshareknowledgewithinasinglelocationthatisstructuredandeasytosearch. Learnmore Differencebetween"whereareyoufrom"and"wheredoyoucomefrom" AskQuestion Asked 7years,4monthsago Active 4yearsago Viewed 593ktimes 27 15 Whatisthedifferencebetween"whereareyoufrom"and"wheredoyoucomefrom"? Aretheythesame?Aretheyusedinthesamesituationsornot? Whenyouseesomeoneforthefirsttimewhichoneisbettertoask? meaninggrammaticalitydifference Share Improvethisquestion Follow editedSep13'14at6:12 200_success 7,95911goldbadge2727silverbadges4444bronzebadges askedJul25'14at16:59 IceGirlIceGirl 4,1192222goldbadges4444silverbadges6464bronzebadges Addacomment  |  4Answers 4 Active Oldest Votes 21 "Whereareyoufrom"ismorecommon(atleastinU.S.English). Inmyopinion,thisisthepreferredoptionwhenmeetingsomeonenew. Thedifferenceisabitmoreemphasisontheverb"tobe/are"insteadoftheactionof"coming/beingfrom"somewhereasiscommoninotherlanguages.Themeaningisidenticalthough. 1)"Whereareyoufrom?"impliesthatyouwanttoknowwhatcity/state/countrytheyconsider"home,"andthatyouassumeit'ssomeplaceotherthanwhereyouarerightnow.Thismaybeconfusing,sincewheresomeoneis"from"isn'tnecessarilywheretheylive.Italsocanbeembarrassingtoassume,forexample,thatapersonofacertainethnicbackgroundmust"comefrom"someotherplace.Itmightbeagoodideatoseparatetheideaof"whatisyourfamily/ethnicbackground?"from"wheredoyouliverightnow?" "Whereareyoufrom?" "I'moriginallyfromOslo,Norway,butIliveinChicago." 2) "Wheredoyoucomefrom"soundskindofawkwardandoutdated.Ithinkthisisbecauseitincludesthepresent-tenseverb"do"inaquestionaboutapast-tenseaction(comingfromsomewhere).Thisisperfectlyunderstandableandyoucansaythisifyouprefer-I'dstillsuggesttheotherwaythough. "Wheredoyoucomefrom?" "Icomefromalandbeyondthesea,overrunbytrollsanddragons!" 3)"Wheredidyoucomefrom"wouldbecorrectifyouwanttoknow"wherewereyouimmediatelybeforeyoucametothislocationwe'reatrightnow?"Thiscanalsobeusedtoexpresssurpriseattheperson'ssuddenarrivalorunexpectedactions. "Wheredidyoucomefrom?" "Iwasnextdoor,butnowI'mheretorescueyou!" Share Improvethisanswer Follow editedJul25'14at17:47 answeredJul25'14at17:32 mc01mc01 2,9301010silverbadges1414bronzebadges 4 "Icomefrome.gLondon"isquitecommoninESLUKEnglishcourses. – learner Sep13'14at10:30 Ithink"Wheredoyoucomefrom?"canalsomeanamorebroaderquestionofbackgroundorheritage,like"Icomefromapoorfamily"or"Icomefromalonglineofgovernors."while"Whereareyoufrom?"isjustaboutaplace. – HamHamJ Jan15'15at15:07 3 "Italsocanbeembarrassingtoassume,forexample,thatapersonofacertainethnicbackgroundmust'comefrom'someotherplace."--IwouldsuggestbeingverycarefulwiththatintheUS,sincealotofpeopleherearedescendedfromimmigrants.Somemaytakeoffenseorinterpretitasracist(oratleastgetannoyedathavingtoexplain"No,IreallyamAmerican").IwouldonlyaskquestionslikethisifIkneworbelievedthepersondidnotgrowupintheareawheretheycurrentlylive. – Kevin Oct25'15at21:10 Inmyareaofthecountry(Mid-Atlantic)there'snobigdifferenceinthefrequencyofuse.ButIthinkcomefrommightbepreferredwhenthepersonisperceivedtobefromaplacethatisfairlydistantorforeign. – Tᴚoɯɐuo Aug10'18at22:42 Addacomment  |  2 AccordingtoGoogleNgrams,"Wheredoyoucomefrom"wasmorecommonuntilabout1970.AmericanEnglishseemstohaveuseditfirst-itbecamemorecommonthereinabout1965,butnotuntilabout1984inBritishEnglish. Share Improvethisanswer Follow answeredJul28'14at11:33 SydneySydney 7,17322goldbadges1515silverbadges2424bronzebadges 0 Addacomment  |  -2 "Whereareyoufrom?"isageneralquestionaboutorigin,heritageornationality;whereas,"Wheredoyoucomefrom?"ismorespecificusedforgeographiclocations,city,specificaddressetc. Share Improvethisanswer Follow editedAug20'15at6:11 NathanTuggy 9,3682020goldbadges3838silverbadges5656bronzebadges answeredAug20'15at5:42 user22380user22380 1 1 Please,addsources. – Quidam Jan2'20at12:12 Addacomment  |  -2 It'stemptingtotakethepositionthatthereareabsoluteinterpretationstoallutterances.HoweverI'minclinedtoseeinterpretationasafluidprocess,wheretheinterpretationofaquestionaskedoransweredtakesonarhetoricaltrajectorywherebytheaskerandrespondentactandreactinaccordancewiththeirinterestsatanygivenpointintheinteraction.Thenatureoftheinteractioncanchangeduringtheverbalexchange.Forexample:Q:wheredoyoucomefrom?(thinks:theythinkI'mforeign)A:IcomefromForeignerStreet.Response:Q:1....NoImeanoriginally?2.,,,noImean(thinks:hethinksIhateforeigners)wheredidyoucomeherefromtoday?(thinks:phew!)etc.... Share Improvethisanswer Follow answeredNov16'17at10:04 user65114user65114 1 1 Isitsomethingthatcouldn'tbeunderstoodorisitjustme? – Quidam Jan2'20at12:12 Addacomment  |  Youmustlogintoanswerthisquestion. Highlyactivequestion.Earn10reputation(notcountingtheassociationbonus)inordertoanswerthisquestion.Thereputationrequirementhelpsprotectthisquestionfromspamandnon-answeractivity. Nottheansweryou'relookingfor?Browseotherquestionstaggedmeaninggrammaticalitydifference. FeaturedonMeta NewresponsiveActivitypage PlannedmaintenancescheduledforThursday,16December01:30UTC(Wednesday... Linked 0 Whatistheexactmeaningofthequestion"Wheredoyoucomefrom"? 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