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Is something the matter?

I've read or heard this usage of matter many times. For instance, in The pleasure of finding things out, R.P. Feynman writes:

I could tell that something was the matter.

This usage doesn't seem right to me. It's hard for me to pinpoint what exactly bothers me, but I think it has to do with the use of the definite article "the" when the existence of a problem hasn't even been confirmed/acknowledged yet.

I know this usage of matter is accepted by many, but how does it make logical/grammatical sense?

Instead of:

Is something the matter?

I would much prefer

Is there a problem?

Instead of

I could tell that something was the matter.

I would prefer

I could tell that there was a problem/issue.

Note that my issue is with the choice of article, not with that of the noun.

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    Would you not use what's the matter?
    – terdon
    Oct 21, 2013 at 22:30
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    @terdon Yes, I would, but, in that question, it is implied that the existence of a matter is known and has been acknowledged. One is merely inquiring what the nature of the matter is. "Is something the matter?" is completly different.
    – jub0bs
    Oct 21, 2013 at 22:39
  • Is something the matter is the same thing really. Think of what's green? and is something green?.
    – terdon
    Oct 21, 2013 at 22:43
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    @Jubobs You got your first now! I came searching for the same.
    – systemhalted
    Jun 11, 2016 at 17:12
  • Your edit doesn't really make sense... neither "Is there a matter?" nor "I could tell that there was a matter." are valid constructions. You've also added content to the question that the existing answers do not address, which is generally discouraged on SE.
    – Catija
    Jun 22, 2016 at 20:04

4 Answers 4

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What you're observing is a phenonmenon called lexicalization. Consider the following sentence:

What is the matter?

Here the speaker assumes that some problem exists and asks what that problem is. "The matter" means "the matter of concern"; i.e., the thing that we should be worried about. This makes perfect sense on every level of analysis.

But through the repeated use of this expression or some similar one, the phrase "the matter" has become lexicalized into an expression of its own, carrying the sense of "something that we should be worried about". The word "the" here cannot be analyzed on its own. That would be like if you said that you were going to say something, and I asked you where you were going. Here the word "going" is relieved of its usual semantic duties in order to work a side gig as part of a lexicalized aspect marker.

Is this lexicalized usage of "the matter" logical? Not especially, but langauge doesn't need to be logical—not even formal, educated, standard language. If it intelligibly communicates its intended meaning, then, by definition, it makes sense.

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The reason you're confused is because you're trying to analyze an idiom, a set phrase. the matter is a set phrase, not decomposable into its constituents. Your examples are all correct and idiomatic.

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    Are you saying: "people use that phrase; therefore questioning whether it makes logical sense is irrelevant"? In that case, I disagree. I think there is value in deconstructing idioms and avoiding them when they obscure the meaning.
    – jub0bs
    Oct 21, 2013 at 21:18
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    @Jubobs: Often it is the case. In this particular case my understanding was that you were not asking whether it made logical sense, but rather whether it was correct and idiomatic English.
    – Armen Ծիրունյան
    Oct 21, 2013 at 21:20
  • Ok. I'll edit the question.
    – jub0bs
    Oct 21, 2013 at 21:20
  • The first thing you need to do is decide on is which sense of idiomatic you intend to be understood: 'pertaining to an idiom' (a fixed expression not totally explicable in terms of its component words) or 'being a widely accepted and used usage'. Then read about how decomposable and grammatical various idioms are (they vary).
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Oct 21, 2013 at 21:39
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    @Jubobs You're free to use whichever style you like. And avoid constructions you don't like the sound of (unless you have a draconian tutor or editor). By no means all English is strictly logical (in syntactic or semantic aspects). I'm not too keen on the 'double possessive' (eg 'a book of mine') myself. But I use this common construction because almost all other anglophones know, understand, tolerate and use it too. I've even got articles saved on 'extragrammatical idioms' (they really redefine rather than break syntactic 'rules'). This is English – you 're recommending something else.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Oct 21, 2013 at 21:51
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Almost always, there is a logical explanation to the actual wording of an idiom. Often lost in the mists of time. I'd guess that 'Is something the matter?' is a shortened form of an expression like the logical 'Is something I can help with the matter causing you concern?' And one can research 'kick the bucket' on the web.

Sometimes, the meaning of an idiom may be opaque but the literal meaning of the words quite obvious, with standard syntax being used

kick the bucket

Sometimes, the meaning may be fairly transparent (deducible) and the literal meaning of the words quite obvious, with standard syntax being used

ship of the desert

I won't attempt to give an example of each of the 8 possible permutations, or throw in how flexible (ships of the desert? handsome ships of the desert?...) individual idioms might be, but here are some which depart from the use of standard grammar:

all of a sudden

all the same

at daggers drawn

beyond compare

curiouser and curiouser

flatter to deceive

long time, no see

on the up and up

the bigger, the better

trip the light fantastic

Some may be rather more old fashioned than others, but their use seems to cause no worries for most anglophones. Some are more transparent than others (I've seen arguments about the meaning of 'flatter to deceive').

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    Isn't curiouser and curiouser just mischief by Lewis Carroll? I'm not sure I'd call it an idiom...
    – jub0bs
    Oct 21, 2013 at 22:18
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    @Jubobs that's one of the ways that idioms are formed. Happiness was coined by Shakespeare, today it is an integral part of the language. In the same way, curiouser and curiouser has become an idiomatic phrase despite being easily traceable to a single book.
    – terdon
    Oct 21, 2013 at 22:29
  • People here and here agree that it's now achieved the status of an idiom – and with it showing 904 000 Google hits I'd agree it has become lexicalised.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Oct 21, 2013 at 22:35
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    I've just learned on Wikipedia that in "A Whiter Shade of Pale", the verse "skip the light fandango" is a play on the phrase trip the light fantastic. Groovy.
    – Talia Ford
    Oct 22, 2013 at 0:04
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    @Lumberjack I deleted my previous comment in which I claimed I had read happiness in a list of words coined by Shakespeare that I found in Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue. I don't have the book here so I can't look it up and could find no other evidence to support my claim so perhaps my memory is failing me. If someone has a copy of the book I'd love to know if happiness is mentioned. Still, my point about idioms stands even if I gave a bad example. Here is a nice list of phrases first used by Shakespeare, most of which are idioms still in use today.
    – terdon
    Oct 23, 2013 at 2:01
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The only thing the matter with what you are asking is the suggestion that 'problem' does the job better. The only word currently more overworked than 'problem' is 'issue'. I contacted my internet service provider recently, as something was the matter, and they came back to me asking about my 'issue'. 'I only have issues when I go to the toilet' was my reply. 'Your service isn't working, that's what's the matter with me!'

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    I disagree. I'm guessing you wouldn't accept "Is something the problem?" as valid. My issue is with the choice of article, not with that of the noun.
    – jub0bs
    Oct 21, 2013 at 21:24
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    'Is something the matter?' is my preference, but then I'm the sort who tends to treat overworked words and phrases with contempt.
    – WS2
    Oct 21, 2013 at 21:34

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