What

Question

Hi,&lt;case 1&gt;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.=&gt;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. =&gt;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?&lt;case 2&gt;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.=&gt;She told me not to tell dad whether she bought me a watch or a PS 3 or something else.(O)=&gt;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?&lt;case 3&gt;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.=&gt;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.

Dimsumexpress · Accepted 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. If I am having what you are having, "what" = Salmon is what I am having.

CalifJim · Answer

1. Correct.
2. Correct.
3. Correct.
4. Correct.
5. What he told me was that he would be late. (maybe?)

CJ

Jooney · Answer

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 that he gave me as a present was already specified.

Q1) Then, is it appropriate for one to use "what" as a free relative in case 3? I'm kind of confused.

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

Q2) Do all of my examples sound natural to a native ear?

CalifJim · Answer

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, you might easily substitute "it".
... gave me a necklace. It was beautiful.
... told me the answer. It was difficult to understand.

But whereas we know quite thoroughly what "a necklace" is, we don't know exactly what "the answer" is. A necklace can't be anything but a single object. An answer can be anything from a single word to a series of complicated paragraphs.

So
... gave me a necklace. What he gave me was ... is a bit strange.
... told me the answer. What he told me was ... is much less strange.

Your examples sound natural.

CJ

Jooney · Answer

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.

Jooney · Answer

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 the justification for using "what"?

A: What would you like?
B: 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.

The food that my friend is having was already specified, namely salmon. So why is it correct to use "what" here?

I didn't realize the usage of "what" was this complex until I started asking questions on "what". I'd greatly appreciate it if you could help me on this.

CalifJim · Answer

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 things than you have to"; "Don't waste words".

A: What are you going to order?
B: I haven't decided. What are you going to order?
A: Salmon.
B: Then I'll order what you are going to order. < a little strange
B: Then I'll order salmon too. < more natural

A: What are you going to order?
B: I'll just order what you order. < natural

A: I ordered salmon.
B: Did you like what you ordered? < a little strange
B: Did you like it? < natural

A: This book is what I bought.
B: Have you read what you bought yet? < very strange
B: Have you read it yet? < natural

A: I'm not interested in what they're discussing in class today.
B: What is that?
A: Relative clauses.
B: Why aren't you interested in what they're discussing in class today? < very, very strange
B: Why aren't you interested in that topic? < natural

Note that this is a matter of common sense usage - not a matter of grammar. You can say all sorts of things that are perfectly grammatical but that are simply inappropriate in a given conversation. The same grammatical sentence may be appropriate in one context and inappropriate in another. Think in terms of a real on-going conversation.

CJ

Jooney · Answer

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?

CalifJim · Answer

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!

I just don't know the root source of the strangeness. And it isn't a matter of free relative "what" or of any particular grammatical construction. It's a much more general phenomenon that focuses on how information is exchanged in conversations, what the listener expects of the speaker, and so on.

I think you need to research the internet for material on "conversational implicature" and "felicity conditions". The name "Grice" may come up as well. You might find some interesting things if you Google those three tags.

CJ

Jooney · Answer

Thank you very much for your help, CJ.

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

What

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬