Timeline for Can we use 'what' as a reference to a previous statement?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
6 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 6, 2016 at 20:15 | vote | accept | vlashel | ||
| Apr 6, 2016 at 14:31 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | Excellent linked article; Nordquist explains about the usage that is standard: 'In English grammar, a free relative clause is a type of relative clause (that is, a word group beginning with a wh-word) that contains the antecedent within itself. Also called a nominal relative clause, a fused relative construction, an independent relative clause, or (in traditional grammar) a noun clause.' [I don't know what really happened/ what they're doing] | |
| Apr 6, 2016 at 10:39 | comment | added | WS2 | @ColinFine Yes, I apologise for that and have edited. Undoubtedly it was a reflection of my petit-bourgeois 1950s' grammar-school mindset. You will see I have also edited to include circumstances in which what is correctly used as a relative pronoun. | |
| Apr 6, 2016 at 10:35 | history | edited | WS2 | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 280 characters in body
|
| Apr 6, 2016 at 10:32 | comment | added | Colin Fine | Correction: using "what" as a relative pronoun is a feature of some dialects, but not of standard English. There is no necessary association with literary skills. | |
| Apr 6, 2016 at 10:27 | history | answered | WS2 | CC BY-SA 3.0 |