'wh'-clauses

◊ GRAMMAR

A `wh'-clause is a clause beginning with a `wh'-word such as `who' or `what', or with `whether'. `Wh'-clauses are used to refer to matters that are uncertain or about which a choice has to be made.

\

`Wh'-clauses are used after some verbs referring to speaking and thinking, for example in reported questions.

She wanted to know where you were.

She asked whether my baby had recovered.

\

See section on reported questions in entry at ↑ Reporting.

\

You can also use `wh'-clauses after prepositions, and as the subject of verbs such as `be', `depend', and `matter'.

The State is desperately uncertain about what it wants artists to do.

What you get depends on how badly you were injured.

Whether I went twice or not doesn't matter.

\

Structures consisting of a `wh'-word plus a `to'-infinitive clause, which refer to a possible course of action, are used after verbs and prepositions. However, they are not usually used as subjects.

He couldn't decide what to do.

They do not know how to make them.

...the problem of where to eat dinner.

The attendant on duty has instructions on how to act in these circumstances.

\

`Why' is not usually used in this kind of structure.

\

◊ WARNING

Note that `if'-clauses, which are used for reported questions, cannot be used after prepositions or as the subject of a verb. For example, you can say `Whether she likes it or not is irrelevant', but you cannot say `If she likes it is irrelevant'.

\