Usage of what, a relative pronoun or an interrogative

Question

"They have a different definition of what constitutes a good learning environment.”I have always been confused with usage of what because I am not sure if it is used as a relative pronoun for the meaning of the thing(s) which or an interrogative as a subject itself like 'What makes you happy?'So in the example sentence, I think that what is used for an interrogative as a subject. What do you native English speakers think?Thank you so much as usual in advance!

GPY · Accepted Answer

It means "They have a different definition of the thing(s) that constitutes a good learning environment.”

BillJ · Answer

They have a different definition of what constitutes a good learning environment.

It's a close call, but I think in this instance “what” is interrogative, so the underlined constituent is an interrogative content clause with "what" as subject.

I don’t think it’s a fused relative construction where the underlined would mean “the thing which constitutes a good learning environment”, but rather it is asking indirectly what it actually is that constitutes a good learning environment. It seems to be about opinions and choices.

It’s the subordinate counterpart of the main clause “What constitutes a good learning environment? and it has the same set of possible answers, for example, “student participation; a friendly atmosphere, safe place to learn etc.

As an interrogative, the meaning would be: “They have a different definition of the answer to the question ‘What constitutes a good learning environment?”’

Anonymous · Answer

Hans51They have a different definition of what constitutes a good learning environment.

I'm with BillJ on that. what constitutes a good learning environment is an indirect question. Definition (in itself) answers the question: "What is it/this/that?"

Usage of what, a relative pronoun or an interrogative

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