One of the books that my son has to read for school has "How goes the work?" in it over and over. And now the unit of work he has to do this week is called "How goes the day?".

I'm sure they wouldn't get him to do that kind of work with a 'wrong' sentence but it sounds wrong to my ears and out of the class room when he asks me "how goes your day?" I make him change it to "how is your day going?" Drives me nuts

It isn't wrong is it? But why does it sound so wrong? I thought perhaps it was a old way to say it that we've just lost somewhere along the line?

That sounds very antiquated to me, perhaps it's the British system that's lingering in the books in Oz.
The reason I say this is because British English and the way French works is very close, much closer than American English.
French comment ca va? How does it go, is closer to How goes it?

But followed by an object like work or the day? Very odd.

Tabby, where are you?


I've only heard similar usage in versions of English like Pidgin in Hawaii, Howzit bra? How is it, how are things going brother?

How's it going? but not the regular present How goes it?

Check the copyright for us, out of curiosity.

Never thought to look at that, Heather But it surprised me as it is quite recent.

Farmer Duck
Martin Wadell. Helen Oxenbury
First Published 1991 by Walker Books. England.

I have never heard anyone speak that way. You might ask how the work is going, but not normally how goes the work.

Farmer Duck is one of those books I read over and over to classes. This is because it is funny and sweet and because it is written by Martin Waddell who is a very prolific childrens' writer, whose books you look for. I have never thought about this in all the years of "Farmer Duck"!
I shall ask.
In the meantime this article is interesting about Mr Waddell and his talents:
Martin Waddell

That's funny, we used to say How goes it? all the time, and in fact I still do sometimes. But it was always sort of a slang expression for us. Hmmm..
But then, I grew up in a place that is known for having a lot of odd sayings and many of them are derived from much older or foreign usage. So maybe it's not so odd after all.

It 'sounds' funny to me too Copago, but, I have had comments from overseas visitors when I ask, "How are you going?" They say, "How are you doing?"

"Comment allez vous" is the correct French greeting, so maybe we in Oz translated it and use it for the same reason.

Taesma, come to think of it, yes I have said 'how goes it' but thought of it as being almost slang. I don't think I would say how goes the work or day, just it.

You'd almost think the book was written by a Dutch immigrant! "How goes the work?" could be a literal translation of "Hoe gaat het werk?" which is perfectly grammatical Dutch. Same for "How goes it?".

THat's why it's odd, because it's from English when it resembled other European languages more.

I know that I remember the French books teaching the kids English had some ridiculous things they claimed were British English, but which I would ask people about, and they'd laugh hysterically.
They also tried to correct students on their British accents, but the accent they taught could not be reproduced by a native speaker of English from another country, nor modeled by a French teacher of English.
I remember a student being corrected for not pronouncing the ah in cahn't, but, not all Brits pronounce it that way and the teacher sure didn't!
However, some of those things were remnants of the past British English.

I'm just surprised to hear it in an English book.
If it's an exercise or something the kid has to repeat that's odd, but if it's just a more poetic usage of English the author's using, then, it's maybe just his usage.

It reminds me of Lewis Carroll's send up of the old Victorian poems...
"How doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail?"

The absolute best English storybooks I used to collect for my children were the Ladybird series. They'd adapt fairytales to a simple format without taking out the 'big words' that gave them their rich language. We had 'The Secret Garden' and 'The Shoemaker and the Elves' and other tales and the kids loved them.
Yes I know Sue would laugh at my Yorkshire accent but I did my bit to expose them to different versions of English.
They then were able to decypher Billy Elliott when they saw it!

I agree that forms like How goes the work? and How goes it? are archaisms, dating as Bruyere says from the days when English used “progressive” tenses much less than it does now, and when questions were regularly formed without auxiliaries like do.

Archaisms like this are sometimes used for humorous effect in Britain. Like Taesma and Sue, I’m used to hearing How goes it?, but like them I see it as a kind of light-hearted slang. I’ve never heard How goes the work? or How goes the day?. I wondered whether they might be quotations from somewhere, but I can’t find anything like them in my reference books. There was a World War Two movie called Went The Day Well?, but I’ve no idea how that title was thought up.

It seems strange to use expressions like this in a book for kids, if it’s intended to teach the rudiments of English. I’d favour using ordinary straightforward English like How is the work (or job) going? at this stage, rather than jokey old-fashioned constructions.

Thus said, how often do British English speakers use the form 'Have you any tomatoes?' instead of the auxilary, "Do you have any...?' or "Have you got any..?'
I know that the French textbooks still use the former.

I suppose with the popularity of the slogan, 'Got Milk?' in the States, we'll be dropping the have anyway!

I feel for the puir wee lad Conor on his first trip to England, slapping a working man on the back and saying, 'So mate, how goes the work?' and the man looking at him oddly.

I agree with Ren. I have often read 'Farmer Duck' to children, and there is something about the archaic expression which really appeals to them. There is an element of poetic language there which is far more memorable than the more usual, "How is the work going?" I see nothing wrong in it. Martin Waddell is one of the most respected children's authors of the present time and I have never had a single complaint in all my years' teaching about his use of language in this case. I think it's fun and quirky and I like it!

I am a bit of a stickler too Copago but I am reminded that language is fluent and changing. I play tournament scrabble and every year or so get a list of new words and redundant ones.

I've seen "How goes the Day" written once, in a book where one warrior asks another during a battle, but it was archaic - in Susan Coopers "Silver on the Tree" so it's King Arthur's army.

This is all very interesting. I sometimes work with a man from Australia and quite often hear him say "How goes the job?" He would be referring to the "job" I am currently working on. I wonder if it is something he has picked up here in the US? It does sound quite fluid coming from him though.

I also think that the phrase "how goes it" can be regional here in the US, as well as generational. It would be more likely for me to hear someone not of a younger generation to using it. It also seems to me that people from the east tend to use it more.

Heh, here in the midwest, or at least my part of it, "how goes it" is quite common, along with variations. Some people have shortened it to "how goes" as a slang greeting. "How goes the" whatever is fairly common. But just plain "how goes it" is the norm. I would say that "how goes it" is easily as common as "how's it going." Surely it's grammatically correct, but it is so common here that I never stopped to think it might also be archaic. It's also the direct translation of the German, Wie Geht's? English being Germanic, and my part of the country being a great part German in ancestry, I suppose it never really struck anyone else here as odd either.

I've heard 'How goes it?' quite often in everyday speech and have always assumed it was a jocular translation from French or some other foreign language.

I've heard 'How goes it?' often as well.

I say 'How goes it?', and never 'How's it going?'. Then again, I like to sprinkle my conversations with the odd 'yonder', 'methinks',
'damn their eyes!, and the very occasional 'gadzooks!'.

'How goes the work?' does sound a bit off to me. On the other hand 'How goes the battle?' sounds very good.

I suppose modes of speech go in and out of fashion. Hopefully I can insidiously inject 'Zounds!' back into the vernacular.

I've always been partial to 'Huzzah!'

Hmmm, I believe they could both be "correct"; It is a "short & to the point" sentence.

Well, well, well, I read through this thread yesterday, agreed with some comments, disagreed with others, but had nothing original to add. When lo and behond (excuse my poor grammar there!), as I fell into my bed at 03:30 this morning and opened an ancient Terry Pratchett to accompany me on my route to unconsciousness, what one line jumps off the page at me but the one where Granny Weatherwax is asking a fellow witch "How goes the job?" Coincidence, eh?

It certainly woke me up! I guess it's fate which was prodding me to post a comment in this thread .

As an aside to the main thread, I will add that I (and my children) am (are) a big fan of Martin Waddell's work, though Farmer Duck is not top of the list. I think our favourite has to be Owl Babies closely followed by Snow Bears then The Big Big Sea. The drawings are superb and every word is chosen with such care that the core message is transmitted in a simple, understated form easily understood by even the youngest of children. Simply beautiful.