Wh-ever
Using an indefinite pronoun to add a modifying clause
Parts of Speech
Wh-ever words can be used in these ways:
| WH- EVER | REPHRASED |
|---|---|
Make some cookies with whatever you have. (a pronoun with a modifying clause) |
Make some cookies with any thing that you have. |
Take whatever ingredients you need. (adjective / determiner) |
Take the/ any ingredients you need. |
Whatever the hour, call me when they are done. (adverbial phrase) |
Call me regardless of / no matter the hour when they are done. |
ingredients – food that goes into a recipe
Wh -ever Words
Clause Pronouns
Whoever – Any person ... who
| WHOEVER | ANY PERSON WHO |
|---|---|
Whoever means "any person who"; use a singular verb; use 'whoever' for a subject or an object. |
Rephrase as any person [who + clause]; the person is indefinite "any" |
Whoever wants to know can ask me. (pronoun-subject of main clause) |
Any person who wants to know can ask me. (subject of main clause & subject of modifying clause) |
Whoever you tell will be jealous. (pronoun-subject of main clause) |
Any person who you tell will be jealous. (subject of main clause & object of modifying clause) |
You told my secret to whoever asked you. (pronoun-object of main clause)
|
You told my secret to any person who asked you. (object of main clause & subject of modifying clause) |
You told my secret to whoever you met. (pronoun-object of main clause) |
You told my secret to any person who you met. (object of main clause & object of modifying clause) |
Whatever – Anything ... that
| WHATEVER | ANY THING THAT |
|---|---|
Whatever means "anything that". |
Rephrase as anything [that + clause] |
Whatever you say will be held against you. (pronoun-subject of main clause) |
Anything that you say will be held against you. (a legal expression) (subject of main clause & subject of modifying clause) |
Whatever you want is yours. (pronoun-subject of main clause) |
Anything that you want is yours. (subject of main clause & object of modifying clause) |
You can have whatever strikes your fancy. (pronoun-object of main clause)
|
You can have anything that strikes your fancy. (object of main clause & subject of modifying clause) |
You can have whatever you want. (pronoun-object of main clause)
|
You can have anything that you want. (object of main clause & object of modifying clause) |
Whoever/Whatever vs. Whichever
| WHOEVER | WHICHEVER |
|---|---|
Whoever is followed by a verb or a subject-noun. |
Whichever is a determiner (adj) and is usually followed by a noun. Note that which is used for items in a small determined group, while what is used for an undetermined amount. (Which one of these do you want. What do you want.) |
Whoever you ask, he will tell you the same. (anyone who) |
Whichever person you ask, he will tell you the same. (any person) |
Whatever you want, just ask me. (anyone who) |
Whichever one you want, just ask me. (any one / thing) |
Sentence Position
| INITIAL SENTENCE POSITION | MEDIAL SENTENCE POSITION |
|---|---|
Wh-ever pronouns can be used in initial sentence position to introduce a modifying clause. |
Or they can be used in the middle of the sentence to introduce a modifying clause. |
Whichever one you want, you can have. |
You can have whichever one you want. (any one .... that) |
Whenever you please, you can phone me |
You can phone me whenever you please. (any time .... that) |
Wherever we went, people talked about us. |
People talked about us wherever we went. (any place .... that) |
However you travel, it will take a day to get there |
It will take a day to get there however you travel. (any manner .... that) |
Rephrasing Wh-ever Clauses
| WH-EVER CLAUSE | CLAUSE REPHRASED |
|---|---|
These sentences can be rephrased by returning the words to standard order. |
These are the underlying sentence structures: "any" or "no matter" |
Whoever telephones, tell them I am out. (Any person who, no matter who) |
Tell [them] whoever telephones that I am out. Delete "them". Tell any person who telephones that I am out. |
Whoever you are, I'm not opening the door. (No matter who, regardless of who) |
I'm not opening the door for whoever you are. Add "for". I'm not opening the door no matter who you are. |
Whatever your reason is, make sure it is a good one. (No matter what, regardless of what) |
(You) make sure your reason is a good one whatever it is. Make sure your reason is a good one no matter what it is. |
Whatever she said to you, you can believe. (No matter what) |
You can believe whatever she said to you. You can believe anything/something that she said to you. |
Other Uses
Whichever one you want, you can have
Adjectives & Adverbs
Wh-ever Phrases vs. Clauses
| AS ADJECTIVES – DETERMINERS | IN ADVERBIAL PHRASES |
|---|---|
In these sentences, whichever and whatever are more like adjectives or determiners: any/some in modifying phrases. |
In these sentences, whichever and whatever are more like adverbs in phrases (telling when, where, why or what for). Note that the noun is the object of a prepositional phrase. |
Whatever occasion arrives, she bakes. (She bakes for any occasion that arrives.) |
Whatever the occasion, she bakes. (She bakes for any occasion – what for?) |
Whichever day you choose, just let us know. (Let us know any day that you choose.) |
Whichever the day, just let us know. (Let us know on which day. – when?) |
Whatever reasons she had, she went out. (She went out for some reason that she had.) |
Whatever the reason, she went out. (She went out for some reason – why?) |
Determiners are words (adjectives) that come before nouns such as: a, an, one, some, any, this, that, these, those, much many, my, you, ours, few, less, several, all, both, etc.)
Commonly Confused Words
Homonyms, Expressions & Slang
However (no matter how) vs. However (but)
| HOWEVER (adverb) | HOWEVER (conjunction) |
|---|---|
No matter how; any manner; adverb |
But; conjunction for contrast |
However she dresses, she always looks stylish. (no matter how) |
She wanted to get dressed up. However, the event was casual. |
We can get this done however you want to do it. (no matter how / in any manner) |
We can get this done; however, he doesn't want to. |
However–much Expressions
| HOWEVER + Adjective / Adverb | REPHRASED |
|---|---|
However + adjective / adverb + subject verb; |
even if ... very; no matter how much |
However much she tries, she'll never be able to keep a secret. |
She'll never be able to keep a secret even if she tries very hard. (no matter how much) |
However rich you are, you cannot buy true friendship. |
You cannot buy true friendship even if you are very rich. (no matter how much) |
However cleverly he speaks, he cannot hide his dishonesty. |
He cannot hide his dishonesty even if he speaks very cleverly. (no matter how much) |
Whatever - Slang
| WHATEVER | MEANING |
|---|---|
"You put the DVD into the wrong drive." |
Whatever is used in an argument to concede (admit but not admit) so that the argument will be over. The speaker avoids an argument. |
"Look, if you don't put the soap in first and then add the clothes, you'll get bleach spots on your colored clothing and you don't want that, do you?" |
Whatever is used to end / leave / escape a conversation that is becoming too long with unnecessary or personally irrelevant information. "Enough" |
Wh-Questions + Ever / WH-ever Questions
| WH–QUESTIONS + EVER | WH–EVER QUESTIONS |
|---|---|
In these questions, ever is used to express surprise or unexpected occurrence. The words in these expressions resemble the wh-ever words, but have different meanings. |
The Wh-ever words below introduce modifying clauses and express any or no matter ... that |
Who ever is that? |
Whoever that is, will you tell them to come back later? (no matter who) |
What ever have you done? |
Whatever you have done, we will be excited to see. (no matter what) |
How ever did you do that? |
However you choose to do it is all right with us. (any manner that) |
Why ever didn't you tell me you were unhappy? |
|
Common Mistakes
| ERROR | FIX |
|---|---|
Whatever is the reason, she doesn't want to eat.
|
For whatever reason, she doesn't want to eat. (for some / any reason that) Whatever the reason, she doesn't want to eat. (no matter what the reason that) She doesn't want to eat for some reason. (the reason is unknown) She doesn't want to eat for any reason. (no reason exists) |
You told my secret to whoever. ('Whoever' is awkward standing alone as an object pronoun.)
|
You told my secret to anyone / everyone. (Rephrase using an indefinite pronoun.) You told my secret to whoever you met. (Rephrase using a modifying clause.) |
Practice
- Select the word or phrase from the menu that means about the same as the given sentence.
- Then, check your answer by clicking the check button to the right.