Grammar-Quizzes › Noun Phrases › What Phrases
What Phrases
Package content for emphasis
Shifting emphasis to another part of the sentence
| USUAL WORD ORDER | ||
|---|---|---|
Usually, we focus on the person doing the action in this case, the comedian telling jokes. |
||
| EMPHASIS | ACTION | OTHER |
| SUBJ | VERB | COMPLEMENT |
John |
told |
a funny joke. |
John |
described |
an amusing situation. |
John |
suggested |
a hilarious explanation. |
| WHAT PHRASE | ||
|---|---|---|
If we wish to place emphasis on another part of the sentence, we isolate that part and package up the rest of the information into a what-phrase (or sometimes a that clause.) |
||
| PACKAGED iNFORMATION | STATE | EMPHASIS |
| SUBJ WHAT-PHRASE | BE | ADJ / PARTICIPLE |
What he said [That + which] |
was |
funny.
|
What he described [That + which] |
was |
amusing. |
What he suggested [That + which] |
was |
hilarious. |
that + which he said; (noun phrase); this/that (pronouns) which/that (relative pronouns); [NP = N + relative clause]
What is a "What" Phrase?
That vs. What Construction
That clause vs. What noun phrase
| THAT – CLAUSE | |
|---|---|
That with a subordinated content clause can function as the subject of a sentence. The clause makes sense without that. That his joke was funny. |
|
| SUBJECT: THAT–CLAUSE | VERB + COMP |
| DECLARATIVE STATMENT | OPINION |
That he imitated the president (relative pronoun. + clause) |
was funny. |
| WHAT – NOUN PHRASE | |
|---|---|
A what-phrase is made up of a pronoun + a relative clause (a fused relative¹) that + which = what. It is a phrase because removing what causes the structure not to make sense: . *What he said (?) |
|
| SUBJECT: NOUN PHRASE | VERB + COMP |
| MODIFIED NOUN | OPINION |
What he said That which he said |
was funny. |
¹ That / this (a pronoun) combines with which / that (a relative clause).
² That that he said… can be used but it sounds better as That which he said… (Both that and which are relative pronouns.)
fused (Adj) – joined; put together into one [that + which = what]
That which becomes What
| THAT + WHICH | |
|---|---|
A noun phrase (NP) commonly occurs as the subject of a clause. Sometimes, the NP may include a relative clause with that or which. |
|
| NOUN + RELATIVE PRONOUN | VERB + COMP |
| SITUATION | OPINION |
The joke that he said That that he said That which he said What he said |
was funny. |
The situation that he described That which he described |
was amusing. |
The explanation he suggested That which he suggested |
was hilarious. |
| WHAT | |
|---|---|
The noun phrase modified by a relative clause that which… is more commonly expressed as what… (The resulting construction is called a phrase rather than a clause.) |
|
| WHAT | VERB + COMP |
| SITUATION | OPINION |
What he said [That + which] |
was funny. |
What he described [That + which] |
was amusing. |
What he suggested [That + which] |
was hilarious. |
Don't confuse that / this (a determiner / pronoun) with that (a relative clause pronoun).
hilarious (Adj) – very funny
Previously, this construction was analyzed as a clause. However, it is currently analyzed as a noun phrase. See Grammar Notes.
(Huddleston 12 §6) (Swan 497) (Huddleston 11 §3.2 "Fused Relative" vs. Subordinator)
"What" as a Place Holder
"Split Sentences"
Cleft Sentence with Displaced Noun Phrase
| NOUN PHRASE | ||
|---|---|---|
A noun phrase may take the subject position of a sentence. However, usually the heavier (longer) part of the sentence is placed at the end. This preference is also called "weighting". |
||
| NOUN PHRASE | VERB | NOUN PHRASE |
| SITUATION | OPINION | |
His delivery of the joke. |
was |
particularly amusing. |
The description of the political fiasco |
was |
was hilarious. |
His interpretation of their actions |
was |
was debatable. |
| WHAT – PLACEHOLDER | ||
|---|---|---|
What serves as a placeholder for the content of the noun phrase that has been moved to the end of the sentence. The effect is that more emphasis is placed on the initial content. |
||
| NOUN PHRASE | VERB | DISPLACED NP |
| OPINION | SITUATION | |
What was particularly amusing |
was |
his delivery of the joke. |
What was hilarious |
was |
his description of the political fiasco. |
What was debatable |
was |
his implication of their actions. |
delivery of a joke (expression) – the way in which a joke is told: timing, facial expression, word choice, etc.
initial (N) – beginning
interpretation (N) something implied or suggested as naturally to be inferred or understood
debatable (Adj) – questionable, dubious, arguable, disputable; are not certain because people have different opinions about them
Also see Cleft Sentences.
"It" as a Place Holder
"Split sentences" (Clefts)
Cleft Sentence with Displaced What–Noun Phrase
| INITIAL | |
|---|---|
A what noun phrase may be placed at the beginning of a sentence to place emphasis on a particular situation. This is followed by a be verb+ complement (an adjective, noun or participle modifier) to indicate the speaker's opinion. |
|
| WHAT-CLAUSE | VERB + COMPLEMENT |
| SITUATION | OPINION |
What he said |
was funny. (hysterical, hilarious, remarkable, silly, ridiculous unbelievable) |
What he described to us |
was a fiasco. (noun) |
What he implied |
was undeniable. |
What I understood |
was amusing. |
| FINAL | |
|---|---|
More commonly the "heavier" part of the sentence is placed at the end of the sentence. It serves as a place holder for the displaced (moved) clause. The resulting emphasis is on the speaker's opinion. |
|
| IT + COMPLEMENT | WHAT-CLAUSE |
| OPINION | SITUATION |
It was funny |
what he said. |
It was a fiasco (noun) |
~ what/ that he described . |
It was undeniable |
what he implied. |
It was amusing |
what I understood. |
The complement many be an adjective, a noun, or a participle. See That-clause Verbs and Complements
fiasco (N) – a complete, shameful, and dishonorable failure
mishap (N) – an unfortunate accident
embarrassment (N) – state of having made a social error embarrassed vs. ashamed
~that often sounds better when the complement is a noun
See Cleft Clauses.
(Swan 130)
"What" Phrase Reversal
Before and after "be"
What-Noun Phrase Reversal
| BEFORE "BE" |
|---|
Bundling information into a what phrase moves the information into the "background" (less importance). The information in the other part after "be" moves to the "foreground" and receives more emphasis (more importance). |
| WHAT PHRASE AS SUBJECT |
What appeals to me is (=) his energy. |
What he wants is a chance.
|
| AFTER "BE" |
|---|
Exchanging content before or after "be" does not affect the meaning. |
| WHAT PHRASE AS "BE" COMPLEMENT |
His energy is (=) what appeals to me. |
A chance is what he wants. |
(Huddleston1420 "pseudo-clefts") (Swan 130)
Wh- Phrase with an Infinitive
Express questions in a general way
Wh-pronouns before infinitives
| SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY |
|---|
What, when, where why and how with should express expectations and conventions. |
| WHAT PHRASE AS SUBJECT |
What I should do and what I should say is unclear. |
How we should have handled it was a mystery. |
Where he should go and how he should go there is unknown.
|
| SPEAKING IN GENERAL |
|---|
A similar meaning can be expressed in a more general way (not specific to one person) with an infinitive. (what to do = noun phrase) |
| WHAT / WHEN / WHERE / WHY / HOW TO |
What to do and what to say was unclear. What anyone should do and what anyone should say was unclear. |
How to handle it was a mystery. |
Where to go and how to go there is unknown.
|
Also see Should (expectations and conventions) and That Clauses.
"What" Noun Phrase
Agreement with Verb
What – Noun Phrase Agreement
| SINGULAR |
|---|
A what-noun phrase is singular in agreement with the verb in formal usage. |
What I want is milk.
|
What milk I have is yours. [money – is]
|
What I want is some milk and a cookie. |
| PLURAL |
|---|
A what-noun phrase is plural (1) informally, if the noun or nouns following the verb is/are plural; (2) if the relative clause noun is plural; (3) if there are two or more what-noun phrases. |
What I want are cookies. informal What I want are milk and cookies. informal |
What cookies I have are yours. [coins – are] |
What I want and what I need are two different things. (two coordinated clauses) |
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
Error and Solution
| ERROR |
|---|
*What I like. (a fragment–an incomplete sentence) |
What he said __ that change is coming. (missing verb) |
What did he say is funny. |
| SOLUTION |
|---|
What I like is ice cream. |
What he said was that change is coming. |
What he said is funny. |
Pop-Q "That vs. What"
Grammar Notes (Advanced)
Traditional and Linguistic Description
Traditional and Linguistic Descriptions
| TRADITIONAL DESCRIPTION |
|---|
Noun clauses beginning with a question word (Azar 12-2) What she said surprised me. "What she said" is the subject of the sentence. A noun clause subject takes a singular verb.
Relatives (4): what — What does not refer to a noun that comes before it. It acts as noun + relative pronoun together, and means 'the thing(s) which'. Clauses beginning with what can act as subjects objects, or complements after be.(Swan 497)
Cleft sentences (1): What I need is a holiday (Swan 130) We can emphasize particular words and expressions by putting everything into a kind of relative clause except the words we want to emphasize : this makes the stand out. These structures are called 'cleft sentences' ('divided'). They are useful in writing (because we cannot use intonation for emphasis in written language) , but they are also common in speech." — Swan What I need is some help. I need some help. "A what-clause is normally considered to be singular; if it begins a cleft sentence it is followed by is/ was/ But a plural verb is sometimes possible before a plural noun in an informal style."(Swan 130.1)
|
| LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION |
|---|
The fused relative construction (Huddleston 12 §6) The fused relative is not analyzed as a clause. Instead, it is a NP [noun phrase] or PP [prepositional phrase].
a) Verbs agree with the fused relatives:
b) Subject-auxiliary inversion
(S-V inversion is a feature of NPs but not a feature of clauses. Compare: That he suggests a change is acceptable. *Is that he suggests a change unacceptable?) (12 §6.1b) c) No extraposition
(Like ordinary NPs, fused relatives do not occur in the extraposition constructions.) d) No fronting of prepositions
(The preposition is not integrated into the construction) e) Functional range of NPs (Huddleston 12 §6.1e)
f) See (Huddleston 12 §6.)
|
Word Categories: N – Noun; V – Verb; Aux – Auxiliary; Adj – Adjective; Adv – Adverb; P –Preposition; Det –Determiner.
Phrasal Categories: NP – Noun Phrase; VP – Verb Phrase; AdjP – Adjective Phrase; AdvP – Adverb Phrase; PP – Prepositional Phrase; DP – Determinative Phrase.
Clausal Categories: Cls – clause; F – finite clause; NF – nonfinite clause (Ger – gerund; Inf – infinitive; PPart – past participle).
Word Functions: Subj – subject; Pred – predicate/predicator; Comp – complement: an element or elements required by a word or structure to complete its meaning in the clause (e.g., DO – direct object; IO – indirect object; PP - prep. phrase); Adjunct – adjunct: elements not required by an expression to complete its meaning (Subord – subordinator; Coord – coordinator); Supl – supplement: a clause or phrase added onto a clause that is not closely related to the central thought or structure of the main clause.
Works Cited
- Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar. 4th ed., Pearson Education, 2009.
- Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum. "Clefts." The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, Cambridge UP, 2002.
- Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2005.
Practice 1
It's not what you say…
Read (without that or what)
It's not what you say but how you say it.
They say that a small amount of [we say] comes from words. A larger amount comes from the tone we use and the greatest amount comes from the body language we use. If this is true, then we must be missing a lot of information from [we read on the Internet].
[Words can wound] is true. [We write] can also hide hurt or hostility. The following are angry messages sent by hurt "friends".
[You said about being loyal] was a half-truth.
[You think you are loyal] is amusing.
[You described as "love"] was an illusion.
[You want a relationship] is a fairy tale.
[You believe about me] is untrue.
[You believe me] is important.
arrow (N) – a long stick-like weapon that is shot with a bow; this shape →
illusion (N) – imaginary; false
wound (V) – cause hurt or injury
Decide whether to add what or that to the sentence.
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the"Check" or "Check 1-10 button.
Practice 2
Stating Opinion
Correct or Incorrect?
- Select a response correct or incorrect.
- Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the"Check" or "Check 11-15 button.
Practice 3
Keys to Being a Good Comedian
Read
A good comedian observes the audience carefully. A comedian's observations are important. It is important what she observes about the audience
Relating to shared experiences is essential. What a comedian says must be familar to the audience. It essential what he shares with the audience.
Trying a few test jokes helps a comedian get a feel for what kind of jokes makes the audience laugh. It is helpful to know what amuses the audience.
Surprising the audience is the key to telling a good joke. It's like a balloon: you inflate it and then pop it. It is interesting to hear what a comedian does to surprise the audience.
Selecting a particular joke from memory and a knowing when to use it is an art. It is inspiring what they do to make people laugh.
inflate (V) – put air into; He inflated the ball.
try out (V) – experiment with
Change the It-clause to a what-phrase.
- Edit the sentence(s) in the text box.
- Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the"Check" or "Check 16-20 button.
Also see Cleft Clauses