skip navigation

Wh-ever

Clauses

cookies baking
 

 

Wh-ever Uses
WH- EVER

Whatever can function as an indefinite determiner that refers to any one (not a particular one.)
RELATIVE DETERMINER (FREE CHOICE)

Whatever you bake will be delicious.
("What ever  you bake" is the subject of the sentence.) 
 

RELATIVE DETERMINER  (ANY, ALL)

Take whatever ingredients (that) you need.  
("whatever ingredients you need" is the object of the sentence.)  

RELATIVE DETERMINER  (UNPREDICTABLE, UNKNOWN)

Whatever the hour, he calls me.
(T he clause whatever the hour is" is shortened, omitting be. 

REPHRASED

Whoever, whatever, whichever and however have similar open meanings: It doesn't matter who/what/how, any person, thing, way or an unknow person, thing, way
 

Any thing (that) you bake will be delicious.   (meaning – it's your selection)
 

(You) take the/ any ingredients ingredients (that) you need. 
 

He calls me regardless of the hour / no matter what the hour is.
 

ingredients – food that goes into a recipe

 

 

 

Wh–ever

As Relative Pronouns

girls gossiping
 

 

Whoever Clauses
WHOEVER

Whoever means It doesn't matter who, any person who, the unknown person who; use a singular verb; use whoever for a subject or an object pronoun.

SUBJECT OF MAIN CLAUSE

Whoever wants to know can ask me.

Who(m)ever you tell will be jealous.  
OBJECT OF MAIN CLAUSE

You told my secret to whoever asked you. 

You told my secret to who(m)ever you met.
ANY PERSON

A similar meaning may be expressed as any person [who + clause]; the person is indefinite "any"
SUBJECT OF MAIN CLAUSE

Any person who wants to know can ask me.

(subject of main clause & subject of modifying clause)

Any person who(m) you tell will be jealous.

(subject of main clause & object of modifying clause)
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 any person who you met.

(object of main clause & object of modifying clause)
 

whoever may occur as the subject or object of the modifying clause.

 

 

 

 

Whatever

Clauses

 

 

Whatever Clauses
WHATEVER

Whatever means It doesn't matter what, any thing that, the unknown thing that; use a singular verb; use whatever for a subject or an object pronoun.

SUBJECT OF MAIN CLAUSE

Whatever he says is true.  

Whatever you want is yours. 
OBJECT OF MAIN CLAUSE

You can have whatever you please/ wish / like. 

You can have whatever you want. 
ANY THING

A similar meaning may be expressed as anything [that + clause]
SUBJECT OF MAIN CLAUSE

Anything  that he says is true.

 

Anything  that you want is yours.

 
OBJECT OF MAIN CLAUSE

You can have anything that you please/ wish / like.

 

You can have anything that you want.

 
 

 

 

 

 

Whichever

Clauses

 

 

 

Whichever Clauses
DETERMINER

Whichever is a determiner that makes no reference to a particular one.

Whichever person you ask, he will tell you the same. (any person)

Whichever one you want, you may have. (any one / thing)
ANY PERSON

A similar meaning may be expressed as any person / thing [that + clause]

Any person (that) you ask will tell you the same.

 

Any one (that) you want, you may have.
 

 

Also see Determiners.

 

 

 

 

However

Clauses

 

 

 

However Clauses
HOWEVER (ADV)

However means  It doesn't matter how , any way that, the way that ; use singular agreement.
DETERMINER (FREE CHOICE, ANY)

However you dress, you always look good. 

You can explain it however you want (to). 
 

DETERMINER (NO MATTER HOW)

However much she tries, she'll never be quiet.   however + adverb

However rich you are, you cannot buy true friendship.  however + adjective

However cleverly he speaks, he cannot hide his dishonesty. however + adverb
ANY WAY

A similar meaning may be expressed as any way that or no matter how.
ANY WAY / MANNER

Any way you dress, you always look good. 

You can explain it in any manner you want (to).
NO MATTER HOW

She'll never be quiet no matter how much she tries. (even if she tries very hard)

You cannot buy true friendship no matter how rich you are.  even if you are very

He cannot hide his dishonesty no matter how cleverly he speaks.  even if he speaks very cleverly
 

 

 

 

 

 

Wh-ever Clauses

Clause Order

 

 

 

Clause Position
INITIAL SENTENCE POSITION

A wh-ever clause may be placed before the main clause (set off by a comma) for emphasis.

Whichever one you want, you can have. 

Whenever you please, you can phone me

Wherever we went, people talked about us.

However you travel, it will take a day to get there
FINAL SENTENCE POSITION

A wh-ever clause may be placed after the verb.  In both initial and final positions, the wh-ever clause functions as the complement to the verb.

You can have whichever one you want. (any one that)

You can phone me whenever you please.  (any time that)

People talked about us wherever we went.  (any place that)

It will take a day to get there however you travel.  (any manner that)
 

 

 

Rewording Wh-ever Clauses
WH-EVER CLAUSE

These sentences can be rephrased by returning the words to standard order.

Whoever telephones, (you) tell them I am out.   (Any person who, no matter who)

Whoever you are, I'm not opening the door.   (No matter who, regardless of who)

Whatever your reason is, (you) make sure it is a good one.    (No matter what, regardless of what)

Whatever she said to you, you can believe. (No matter what)
CLAUSE REPHRASED

When the clause is returned to standard word order, it may be necessary to add or delete words.

Tell them whoever telephones that I am out.  (direct object)

Tell any  person who telephones that I am out.

I'm not opening the door for whoever you are. (indirect object)

I'm not opening the door no matter who you are. 

Make sure your reason is good, whatever it is.¹  (modifying clause)

Make sure your reason is good, no matter what it is.

You can believe whatever she said to you.  (direct object)

You can believe any/something that she said to you. 
 

¹ This modifier is actually misplaced. It modifies reason. However, the correct placement produces an awkward sound sentence:  Make sure your reason whatever it is is good.

 

 

 

Wh–ever

Word Forms

Whichever one
Whichever one you want, you can have
 

 

Wh-ever — Determiner
WH–EVER

In these sentences, whichever and whatever function as determiners — any/some in a modifying clause.

Whatever occasion arrives, she bakes. 

Whatever reasons she had, she went out. 

Whichever day you choose, just let us know.  
 

REPHRASED

A similar meaning may be expressed with any.

She bakes for any occasion that arrives.

She went out for any reason that she had.

Let us know any day that you choose.
 

Determiners are words 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.)

 

 

 

Wh-ever — Adverb
ADVERB (IN AN ADVERBIAL PHRASE)

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 the occasion, she bakes.  What for?

Whatever the reason, she went out.  Why?

Whichever the day, just let us know.   When?
REPHRASED

A similar meaning may be expressed with prepositional phrase using for.

She bakes for some/any occasion. 

She went out for some/any reason.  

Just let us know on which day / in which month / at which time.  

 

 

 

 

 

Commonly Confused Words

Homonyms, Expressions & Slang

 

 

 

Whoever vs. Who ever!
WH–QUESTIONS + EVER

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. 

Who ever is that? 
 Who is that, I wonder. (surprise, curiosity)

What ever have you done?
What did you do? It's not what I expected. (dissatisfaction, anger)

How ever did you do that? 
How did you do that?  I am amazed.   (surprise, admiration)

Why ever didn't you tell me you were unhappy?  
Why didn't you tell me? It was expected of you.    (surprise, disappointment) 

WH–EVER  QUESTIONS

The Wh-ever words below introduce modifying clauses and express any or no matter ... that

Whoever that is, will you tell them to come back later?  (no matter who)

Whatever you have done, we will be excited to see.  (no matter what)

However you choose to do it is all right with us.  (any manner that)

 
 

 

 

 

However vs. However 
HOWEVER (ADV)

However is sometimes used with the meaning of no matter how; any manner.   (adverb)

However she dresses, she always looks stylish.  (no matter how)

We can get this done however you want to do it.  (no matter how / in any manner)
HOWEVER (CONJ)

However is also used with the meaning of but. (conjunction for contrast)

She wanted to get dressed up. However, the event was casual.

We can get this done; however, he doesn't want to.
 

 

 

 

Whatever - Slang
FINISHED TALKING ABOUT IT

Whatever is often used in an argument to concede (admit but not admit) so that the argument will be over. The speaker avoids an argument, "agree to disagree".

"You put the DVD into the wrong drive."
"Oh, whatever. "  (WEV in text messaging)

 
FINISHED LISTENING

Whatever is used to end / leave / escape a conversation that is becoming too long with unnecessary or personally irrelevant information. "Enough"

"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..."  

 

 

 

 

 

Common Mistakes

Errors and Solutions

babyfood
 

 

 

ERROR SOLUTION

Whatever is the reason, my baby doesn't want to eat.

 

 

For whatever reason, my baby doesn't want to eat. (for some / any reason that)

Whatever the reason (is), 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 1

Gossip

gossip
 

 

 

Complete the clause with wh-ever.
  1. Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence. 
  2. Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check 1-12" button at the bottom, or click the "check" button as you go.

 

1.
Some people gossip about anyone they want.



 gossip (n.) –talking about personal or private affairs of others

2.
They think they can talk about private matters anytime they please.


3.
They don't think that idle talk affects other people's lives for some reason.


4.
They take away some small amount of privacy for any person they discuss.


5.
They are gossiping about movie stars anytime I see them.

6.
I meet people who are curious no matter where I go.


7.
We feel like old friends no matter how long it has been since we last saw each other.


8.
Let me know how to get to any place you all choose to meet.


9.
He calls me with the latest news from the hospital no matter the time of day.

10.
I get worried any time he calls.


11.
Be sure that you truly like one of these names you will choose for you baby.


12.
Be sure that you truly like any name you choose for you baby.