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Jooney Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

What

Hi,

<case 1>

A: My boyfriend gave me a present for my birthday yesterday.
B: Really? I wonder what he gave you.

A: What he gave me was a beautiful necklace.
B: I'm so jealous.

I wonder what he gave you.
=>I wonder whether he gave you a ring or a necklace or something else.

Therefore, the "what" is an interrogative word.

Q1) Is my analysis correct?

What he gave me was a beautiful necklace.
=>Whether he gave me a necklace or a ring or something else was a beautiful necklace.(X)

Therefore, the "what" is a free relative.

Q2) Is my analysis correct?

<case 2>

My mom bought me a PS 3 as a graduation gift. She told me not to tell dad what she bought me.

She told me not to tell dad what she bought me.
=>She told me not to tell dad whether she bought me a watch or a PS 3 or something else.(O)
=>She told me not to tell dad the PS 3 she bought me.(X)

Therefore, the "what" is an interrogative word.

Q3) Is my analysis correct?

<case 3>

He told me the answer to this math problem. What he told me was difficult to understand.

What he told me was difficult to understand.
=>Whether he told me the answer to this math problem or not was difficult to understand.(X)

Q4) So the "what" is not an interrogative word, correct?

Q5) Can you use "what" here as a free relative?

I'd appreciate your help.
  

Top answer

Hi, I hate the smell of cigarettes on a woman = Woman with cigarette smell is what I hate "What" is a pronoun, not an interrogative, not a relative pronoun. What would you like? I am having what you are ordering = You are ordering Salmon.

  • Hi, I hate the smell of cigarettes on a woman = Woman with cigarette smell is what I hate "What" is a pronoun, not an interrogative, not a relative pronoun.
  • What would you like?
  • I am having what you are ordering = You are ordering Salmon.
  • If I am having what you are having, "what" = Salmon is what I am having.
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10 Answers
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Hi,
I hate the smell of cigarettes on a woman = Woman with cigarette smell is what I hate
"What" is a pronoun, not an interrogative, not a relative pronoun.

What would you like?
I am having what you are ordering = You are ordering Salmon. If I am having what you are having, "what" = Salmon is what I am having.
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1. Correct.
2. Correct.
3. Correct.
4. Correct.
5. What he told me was that he would be late. (maybe?)

CJ
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Thank you for your answers, CJ.

I have two more questions.

In the other post on the topic of "what", it was not proper to use "what" in the following context.

<context 1>

A: My boyfriend gave me a necklace for my birthday the other night.
B: Really?

A: What he gave me was really beautiful.

The reason was that the thing
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Regarding the dialog of <context 1>, there is nothing grammatically improper about

What he gave me was really beautiful.

It was simply strange from the point of view of logic because we already knew that 'what he gave me' was 'a necklace'.
___

Here's the other sentence:
What he told me was difficult to understand.

In both cases
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Hi, DE. I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you are trying to say. "What" occur as interrogative pronoun or relative pronoun or determinative according to my grammar book.(The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language by Huddleston and Pullum) Thanks for the examples, though. They definitely worth a look.
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It was simply strange from the point of view of logic because we already knew that 'what he gave me' was 'a necklace'

Thank you for the explanation, CJ. But I can't completely understand what you mean by that. Could you please explain more?

And in one of DE's examples, what is t
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A: What would you like?
B: I am having what you are ordering.


There is no mention of salmon in the dialog. There are no words that 'spill the beans', so to speak. 'what you are ordering' must be inferred by looking or listening. A lot of this comes in the category of "Don't say more complicated th
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Thank you, CJ. I'm very grateful for the help that you've given me.

Then, what is the root source of the strangeness in these sentences? Is it safe to say it isn't appropriate to use a free relative "what" when there is no need for further specification of things? And what are the factors that determine the degree of strangeness? Am I going too far on this topic?
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jooneyAm I going too far on this topic?
Let's just say you've gone farther now than I'll ever be able to follow you!
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Thank you very much for your help, CJ.

Your answers always give me great motivation to study English hard. Thank you.Emotion: wink

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