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HiIs the sentence below correct?"What your sample will be used for."And can this also stay a statement and not a question, but be formulated as:"What will your sample be used for."ThanksIrina

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Is the sentence below correct?

"What your sample will be used for." No.

But you can make statements like these.

I know what your sample will be used for.

What your sample will be used for is interesting.

And can this also stay a statement and not a question, but be formulated as:

"What will your sample be used for?" This is correct, but note it is a question.

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Hi Clive

Thanks for your swift reply. Could you please explain to me why the statement is not correct?

Because it does not have a subject? Because a statement cannot start with "what"? I would like to know the rule that makes this sentence wrong.

Thank you very much!

Irina

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Let me try to explain by using a very simple example and going step by step.

Tom bought the car. This is a statement.

Here are some questions. Note the special word order that is needed for questions.

Did Tom buy the car?

What did Tom buy? Note for later that this is a question.

Here are some more statements.

I see the car.

I see the car that Tom bought.

I see the thing that Tom bought.

I see what Tom bought. Note for later that this is not a question.

Consider that all four of these statements are really referring to the same thing, ie the car.

Note that 'what Tom bought' means 'the thing that Tom bought'.

Here are slightly different versions of the above four statements.

The car is the car. This is correct grammar, but a silly thing to say.

The car that Tom bought is the car. Again, correct but silly.

The thing that Tom bought is the car.

What Tom bought is the car. Note that this is not a question.

You asked me why you can't make the statement 'What your sample will be used for'.

That's like asking me why you can't make the statement 'What Tom bought'.

The answer is this.

Saying 'What Tom bought' is like saying 'The thing that Tom bought' or like just saying 'The car'. 'The car' is a phrase, a word really, but not a statement.

I've tried to go through my explanation step by step. Do you need any more help?

Best wishes, Clive

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