What clauses

Post date: Dec 11, 2014 1:05:39 PM

• A what clause acts like a signpost to the listener, announcing that something important is going to be said. It focusses the listener's attention on the whole of the following clause, rather than on just one or two words.

• The structure acts in a similar way to a relative clause. These two sentences mean the same:

  1. What I wanted was a new car.

  2. The thing that I wanted was a new car.

• Think of the original sentences as coming in two parts, shown in these examples by the dividing lines:

• • I wanted // something to liven up the garden.

  • I prefer // stuff from the 1970s.

  • I'm going to buy // more badges.

• We can make a what clause using this guideline: what + subject + main verb + is/was:

• • I wanted ... > What I wanted was ...

  • I prefer ... > What I prefer is ...

  • I'm going to buy ... > What I'm going to buy is ...

• Other forms of be (apart from is/was) are possible, although rarer, e.g. What I'm going to buy will be ...

• What is usually singular in these clauses, so we say What I want is more garden gnomes rather than What I want are more garden gnomes

• In grammatical terminology this structure is called a wh-cleft sentence.

• Although these clauses can be formed with other wh-words (who, where, how, why, etc.) the ones with what are the most common.