Learn English – What vs. which as relative pronouns in relative clauses

relative-clausesrelative-determinersrelative-pronouns

When are you supposed to use "what" vs. "which" as a relative pronoun in a relative clause?

According to Purdue's Online Writing Lab:

The most common relative pronouns are who/whom, whoever/whomever, whose, that, and which. (Please note that in certain situations, "what," "when," and "where" can function as relative pronouns.)

But it doesn't mention when you should use "what" in that particular role.

Some other examples are:

Where did you buy the dress what you wore last week?

You're that smart banker what killed his wife.

There was an ESL quiz from Singapore where "what" filled in the blank in the following sentence (and "which" was explicitly marked incorrect by the teacher):

This orchestra, ______ these musicians are from, is very good.

According to "First Book in English Grammar" in 1868:

The pronoun what is a relative, when equivalent to that which; when not, it is an interrogative.

Did this use of the pronoun "what" become "officially" ungrammatical at some point?

Best Answer

I suspect that the quiz was just marked incorrectly: "This orchestra, what these musicians are from, is very good" is certainly not possible in standard English. The use of "what" as a relative pronoun in relative clauses that come directly after an antecedent nominal phrase, e.g. in sentences like "You're that smart banker what killed his wife", certainly exists, but is dialectal and considered non-standard, as mentioned in WS2's answer here.

I think the Purdue Writing Lab's statement that "in certain situations, 'what,' 'when,' and 'where' can function as relative pronouns" refers to "fused relative" constructions. You can find some information on those in the answers to the following questions: Usage of "what", Wh- clauses vs Relative clauses, Ambiguity of "I don't know what you know.", "What might have appalled us when we'd started our trip just a few days ago no longer impressed us much".

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