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Jooney Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
What
Hi,
ex)
A: What she is cooking smells delicious.
B: Whatever she is cooking smells delicious.
What's the difference in meaning between the two?
Can "A" be uttered in a situation where the speaker knows what type of food she is cooking?
As far as I know the use of "what" is not really appropriate in a context where the thing being referred to was previously specified. For example,
A: My boyfriend gave me a necklace for my birthday the other night.
B: Really?
A: What he gave me was really beautiful.(?)
Going back to the original example, if the speaker does not know what she is cooking in "A" and utters that sentence, why does he choose 'A' over "B"? I mean, if they both convey the same message, what prompts him to choose "A" over "B"?
I'd appreciate your help.
I
ex)
A: What she is cooking smells delicious.
B: Whatever she is cooking smells delicious.
What's the difference in meaning between the two?
Can "A" be uttered in a situation where the speaker knows what type of food she is cooking?
As far as I know the use of "what" is not really appropriate in a context where the thing being referred to was previously specified. For example,
A: My boyfriend gave me a necklace for my birthday the other night.
B: Really?
A: What he gave me was really beautiful.(?)
Going back to the original example, if the speaker does not know what she is cooking in "A" and utters that sentence, why does he choose 'A' over "B"? I mean, if they both convey the same message, what prompts him to choose "A" over "B"?
I'd appreciate your help.
I
Top answer
Hi jooney, if the speaker knows what is being cooked he/she she is more likely to say "The steak she is cooking smells delicious" or "The lasagne she is cooking smells delicious" if he/she doesn't know then yes B is the correct way of saying it.
- Hi jooney, if the speaker knows what is being cooked he/she she is more likely to say "The steak she is cooking smells delicious" or "The lasagne she is cooking smells delicious" if he/she doesn't know then yes B is the correct way of saying it.
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5 Answers
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Hi jooney, if the speaker knows what is being cooked he/she she is more likely to say "The steak she is cooking smells delicious" or "The lasagne she is cooking smells delicious" if he/she doesn't know then yes B is the correct way of saying it.
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A) You can simply say: The food (she is cooking) smells delicious.
B) This sounds like that you don't know what she is cooking, but it smells good.
B) This sounds like that you don't know what she is cooking, but it smells good.
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jooneyGoing back to the original example, if the speaker does not know what she is cooking in "A" and utters that sentence, why does he choose 'A' over "B"? I mean, if they both convey the same message, what prompts him to choose "A" over "B"?I have no idea!
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To my ear, 'whatever' emphasizes more than 'what' the idea that it doesn't matter what she's cooking, that there is no need for the speaker to know what she's cooking. It's the smell that's important.
I see. That's something I didn't know. Thank you very much, CJ.
I see. That's something I didn't know. Thank you very much, CJ.
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