2021-03-22 ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด W – what & whatever
2021-03-22
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด W – what & whatever
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Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง what = ‘hwot’ or ‘wot’ - unstressed =’wuht’
ออกเสียง Whatever = ‘hwuht-EV-ER’
COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY
USAGE FOR WHAT
The use of are in sentences
such as what we need are more doctors is common,
although many peoplethink is should be used:
what we need is more doctors
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
what
Usage Note:
When what is the subject of a clause,
it takesa singular verb if the word or phrase
that completes the sentence (the complement) is singular,
as in I see what seems to be a dead tree.
It is plural if a plural nounor noun phrase completes the sentence,
as in He sometimes makes what seem to be gestures of reconciliation.
Clauses with what as either subject or object
may themselvesbe the subject of a sentence,
and sometimes it is difficult to decide
whether the verb of the main clause should be singular or plural.
When the what in the what-clauseis the object of the verb
and the complement of the main clauseis singular,
the main verbis always singular:
What they wanted was a home of their own;
when the complement of the main sentenceis plural,
the verb is most often plural:
What American education needs are smaller classes,
though one also encounters sentences
such as Whatthe candidate gave the audience
wasthe same old empty promises.
When what is the subjectof a what-clause
that is the subject of a main clause,
there is greater variation in usage.
When the verb of the what-clause
and the complement of the main clause
are both plural orboth singular,
the number of the verb of the main clause
generally agrees with them.
When the verb in the what-clauseis singular
and the complement in the main clause is plural,
one finds both singular and plural verbs being used.
Sentences similar to both of the following
are foundin respected writers:
What drives me crazy is her frequent tantrums;
What bothers him are the discrepancies in their accounts.
When the complement of the main clause
consists of two or more nouns,
the verb of the main clause is
generally singularif the nouns are singular
and plural if they are plural:
What pleasesthe voters is his honesty
and his willingness to take on difficult issues;
On entering the harbor
what first meet the eye are luxurious yachts
and colorful villas.
Occasionally the choice of a singular or plural verb
may be usedto convey a difference in meaning.
In the sentence
What excite him most are money and power,
the implication is that money and power are separablegoals;
in What excites him most is money and power,
the implication is that
money and powerare inextricably bound together.
See Usage Note at which.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Whatever
Usage Note:
Both whatever and what ever
may be usedin sentences such as
Whatever (or What ever) made her say that?
Critics haveoccasionally objected to the one-word form,
but manyrespected writers have used it.
The same is trueof the forms
whoever, whenever, wherever, and however.
In adjectival uses, however, only the one-word form is used:
Take whatever (not what ever) books you need.
When a clause beginningwith whatever is the subject of a sentence,
no comma should be used:
Whatever you do is right.
In most other cases, a comma is needed:
Whatever you do, don't burn the toast.
When a noun followed by a restrictive clause
is preceded by whichever or whatever,
it is regarded as incorrect
to introducethe clause with that in formal writing:
whatever book that you want to look at;
one should write instead
Whatever book you want to look at will be sent to your office
or Whicheverbook costs less (not that costs less) is fine with us.
See Usage Notes at however, that.
Collins COBUILD English Usage
What
1. asking forinformation
You use what when you are askingfor information about something.
You can use what as a pronounor a determiner.
When you use what as a pronoun,
it can be the subject, object, or complementof a verb.
It can also be the object of a preposition.
What happened to the crew?
What is your name?
When what is the objectof a verb,
it is followed by an auxiliary verb, the subject, and then the main verb.
When what is the objectof a preposition,
the preposition usually goes at the endof the question.
What did she say then?
What did he die of?
2. used as a determiner
When you use what as a determiner,
it usually forms part of the object of a verb.
What books can I read on the subject?
What car do you drive?
Be Careful!
Don't use 'what'
when your question involves a choice
from a limited number of people or things.
For example, if someone has hurt their finger,
don't ask'What finger have you hurt?'
Say 'Which finger have you hurt?'
When you get your daily paper, which page do you read first?
Which department do you want?
You use what when you are asking about the time.
What time is it?
What time does their flight get in?
3. used in reported clauses
What is often used in reported clauses.
I asked her what had happened.
I find it difficult to understand what people are saying.
4. 'what...for'
You use what with for
when you are asking about the purpose of something.
You put what at the beginningof the question
and for at the endof it.
For example, 'What is this tool for?' means
'What is the purposeof this tool?'
What are those lights for?
In conversation,
you can also use what with for
to ask aboutthe reason for something.
You can say, for example, 'What are you looking at me for?'
This means'Why are you looking at me?'
What are you asking him for?
5. 'what if'
You use what if
to ask what should be done if a particular difficulty occurs.
For example, 'What if the bus doesn't come?' means
'What shall we do if the bus doesn't come?'
What if it's really bad weather?
What if this doesn't work out?
6. 'what about'
You use what about to remindsomeone of something,
or to drawtheir attention to something.
What about is followed by a noun phrase.
What about the other names on the list?
What about your breakfast?
Be Careful!
When you ask someone a question
beginningwith what about
you are often expecting them to dosomething,
rather than answer your question.
What about this bag – aren't you taking it?
7. used in relative clauses
What is sometimes used at the beginning of
a special kindof relative clause called a nominal relative clause.
This kind of clause functionslike a noun phrase;
it can be the subject, object, or complement of a verb,
or the object of a preposition.
In a nominal relative clause,
what means 'the thing which' or 'the things which'.
What he said was perfectly true.
They did not like what he wrote.
I am what is known as a light sleeper.
That is a very good account of what happened.
People often use a nominal relative clause
in front of is or was to focus attention
on the thing they are about to mention.
What I need is a lawyer.
What impressed me most was their sincerity.
A similar type of clauseconsists of what
followed by the subjectand do.
After a clauselike this,
you use be and an infinitive structure with or without to.
For example,
instead of saying 'I wrote to George immediately',
you cansay 'What I did was to write to George immediately'.
What Stefan did was to interview a lot of people.
What you need to do is choose five companies to invest in.
Be Careful!
Don't use 'what' in defining or non-defining relative clauses.
Don't say, for example,
'The man what you met is my brother' or
'The book what you lent me is very good'.
Use who, which, or that,
or don't use a relative pronoun at all.
For example,
say 'The man who you met is my brother'
or 'The man you met is my brother'.
8. used to mean 'whatever'
What can be used with the same meaning as 'whatever',
both as a pronounand a determiner.
Do what you like.
They shared what food they had.
See whatever
9. used in exclamations
What is often used in exclamations.
What a great idea!
What nonsense!
Collins COBUILD English Usage
whatever
Whatever can be a pronoun, a determiner, or an adverb.
1. used as a pronoun or determiner
You use whatever as a pronounor determiner
to refer to anything or everything of a particular kind.
I read whatever I could find about the course.
You can buy whatever ingredients you need from the market.
You can also use whatever to say that
something is true in all possible circumstances.
Whatever happens, I'll be back by five.
Whatever type of garden you have, you can have fun growing your own vegetables.
2. used as an adverb
You use whatever after nothing
or after a noun phrasebeginning with no
to emphasizethat there is nothing of a particular kind.
He knew nothing whatever about it.
There is no scientific evidence whatever to support this view.
3. used in questions
Whatever is sometimes used in questions to express surprise.
Whatever is the matter?
Whatever do you want to go up there for?
However, many people consider this form to be incorrect,
and it is better to write what ever as two separate words.
What ever does it mean?
4. used as an informal response
In informal conversation,
people sometimes use whatever as a response,
to show thatthey do not care or have no opinion about something.
This use can sound rude.
'Shall we get a pizza tonight?' – 'Whatever. I don't mind.'
'You really should try to be more organized with your schoolwork.' – 'Yeah, whatever.'
Common Errors In English Usage Dictionary
What & that
In some dialectsit is common to substitute “what” for “that,”
as in "You should dance with him what brung you.”
This is not standard usage.
Dictionary of Problem Words and Expressions
what & all
In a question such as “What alldoes he expect of me?”
What all is considered narrowly dialectal or illiterate.
All is apparently added for intensifying effect,
but its addition is not recommended
in either what all or who all (Who all’s there?)
Dictionary of Problem Words and Expressions
Whatever
As an adjective, whatever means “any ….. that”
It should not be followed by that
in a sentence such as
“I won’t pay any attention to whatever objection that you may have.”
Whatever is a pronoun in “Whatever did you mean?”
What is a pronoun, and ever is an adverb in “what did you ever mean?”
In formal usage, whatever should not be divided.
Dictionary of Problem Words and Expressions
What for
This phrase appears in two nonstandard uses.
When it means “punishment” or “reproof”
(The boss gave George what for because he was late),
it constituted illiteracy.
When what for is substituted for why
(What did you do that for?),
the expression may be considered illiterateor wordy.
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