A question about noun clauses

Question

Hi everyone. Actually I have a question making me so confused. Let's start to ask.

I've asked a question recently.

It was; "Which cities make you happy are Italy, England and USA. "

And someone said: "It is incorrect gramatically because you can't ask a question and can't answer in the same sentence" and I accepted it.

But I saw some examples and It was asked and answered in the same sentence.

For instances;

1-) What is important is you.

2-) What I want now is delicious food.

If they are correct, my example(which cities..) must be correct. Because they have the same logic.

For example, he said that "Who are kind are us" was incorrect."

But if the number one example is true, it must be true i think.

What do you think about them? Thanks a lot.

GPY · Accepted Answer

Jawel1-) What is important is you. 2-) What I want now is delicious food.

This construction does not work with "which". It works with "what" when "what" is a pronoun (not a determiner modifying another noun). "What makes you happy is ..." is therefore correct. "Which cities make you happy are ..." is, if you like, incorrect in two ways: first because it uses "which", and second because "which" modifies another noun. Thus, "What cities make you happy are ..." is also incorrect.

In some old formal writing it is possible that you may see this construction used with "who", but for ordinary modern purposes you can consider it not possible.

JawelBut if the number one example is true, it must be true i think.

Remember again that "true" is the wrong word here.

BillJ · Answer

JawelIt was; "Which cities make you happy are Italy, England and USA. "And someone said: "It is incorrect gramatically because you can't ask a question and can't answer in the same sentence" and I accepted it.

"Someone" was right. Which cities is an interogative phrase where which is an interrogative determiner, not a relative pronoun in a fused construction (see below for the meaning of 'fused'). Instead, you would say The countries which make you happy are ...

Jawel1-) What is important is you. 2-) What I want now is delicious food. If they are correct, my example(which cities..) must be correct. Because they have the same logic.

What is important to you is not important to me is possible, where what is important is a fused relative construction, as is What I want now is delicious food where “what” is not an interrogative word, but a pronoun functioning as head of the noun phrase subjects What is important to you and What I want now.

This construction is called ‘fused’ because the roles of antecedent and relative word are fused or combined into the single word what. The meaning is like that of the non-fused That which is important to you is not important to me and That which I want now is delicious food.

JawelFor example, he said that "Who are kind are us" was incorrect."

He was right. In general, fused relatives with who just aren't used in contemporary English. In Shakespeare's time it was commonplace (recall Iago's remark in Othello: Who steals my purse steals trash ...". It survived down to the 19th century. But it did not survive down to the present day.

The only exception is a particular use of the fused relative known as the 'free choice' construction as in, for example, You can invite who you like, where the subject of the matrix clause is given the freedom to choose who they invite.

Jawel · Answer

Hot about using "who, whoever" ?

For example,

Whoever leaves last should turn off the lights.
Who leaves last should turn off the lights.

Which one is correct?

Jawel · Answer

Okay I got it then,

1-) You are who stole my money.

2-) I love who loves me.(I think, That's incorrect but i was it on some websites)

3-) Where i want to go is Italy.

A question about noun clauses

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