by R. S. Karunaratne

Many uses of 'what'

'What' is a question pronoun and determiner. It is used to ask questions about something or somebody. It can also be used as a relative pronoun.

1. 'What' is used to ask about the agent or cause of something.

What happened to your car?

What kind of a person is he?

What is troubling you?

What made him to set fire to his own house?

What will be the outcome of this protest?

2. 'What' is used to ask about the identity or characteristics of something or somebody.

What is your father?

What is her job?

What is the colour of the crow?

What does he do for a living?

What are you good at?

3. 'What' is used to ask about the thing or activity of somebody.

What did the minister say?

What are your children doing?

What kinds of books does she read?

What makes you angry?

What do you do on holidays?

4. 'What' is used to make indirect questions.

Do you know what day it is?

Tell me what happened.

I do not know what caused the accident.

We do not know what we are going to do.

5. 'What' is used to talk about the objects of our thoughts, memories and understanding.

Do you know what to do in an emergency?

Now I remember what he said.

I do not understand

what you say.

What you say appears to be correct. Can you recall what the suspect told you.

6. 'What' is used to draw attention to an idea.

What I want is a credit card, not a debit card.

What children need most is freedom.

What they want is your money.

What I want is to reduce my weight.

What you need now is a good bath!.

7. 'What' is used to show surprise, pleasure or shock.

What a lovely bird!

What an ugly building!

What a way to spend your leisure!

What nonsense!

What a waste of time!

8. 'What' is frequently preceded by certain verbs.

I know what you are going to say.

See what he will do.

Tell me what you know.

I wonder what's wrong with you today.

Ask what he wants.

They cannot understand what you teach.

Show me what's in your pocket.

Do you remember what you told your parents?

9. Set phrases

Guess what! I passed my exam.

(To announce happy news)

I know what we can visit the Maldives during our holidays. (suggestion)

Tea is invigorating. What's more, it is good for your heart. (moreover)

I'm busy today. What about tomorrow? (suggestion)

What if I fail the exam? (Hypothetical question)

A: I'm very rude.

B: So what? (You are not concerned about it)

Activity

Insert what in the appropriate places in the following sentences. Check your answers with the key.

1. I do not know to write.

2. Tell me to do now.

3. Do you know I mean?

4. You don't listen to I say.

5. This is I want.

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[Key]

1. I do not know what to write.

2. Tell me what to do now.

3. Do you know what I mean?

4. You don't listen to what I say.

5. This is what I want.

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You need to enrich your vocabulary in order to speak fluently and write clearly. Here is a quiz for you to learn some new words. Indicate the meaning you think is correct and check your answers with the key.

The former minister lost his seat because of his jingoistic policies.

(a) Thinking your country is always best

(b) Honest

(c) Straightforward

2. The Opposition MP's philippic against the cost of living was reported in all the newspapers.

(a) Speech

(b) Bitter verbal attack

(c) Petition

3. The stage manager received an award for his protean constructions for the play.

(a) Novel

(b) Beautiful

(c) Changeable

4. The workers were jubilant after the strike, but it was a pyrrhic victory.

(a) Defeat

(b) An easy victory

(c) A costly victory

5. The city planner's ideas were labelled quixotic by the opposition.

(a) Excellent

(b) Impractical

(c) Mediocre

6. My uncle always had a saturnine expression on his face.

(a) Gloomy

(b) Happy

(c) Optimistic

7. "Ain't she beautiful" is a solecism.

(a) An idiomatic expression

(b) Standard expression

(c) Non-standard use of words

8. Dorothy was criticised for living as a sybarite while her children were starving.

(a) one who is a miser

(b) One who is fond of luxury

(c) One who is arrogant

9. The child saw the baleful look on the gang leader's face.

(a) Sinister

(b) Sympathetic

(c) Compassionate

10. My friend sometimes sounds bellicose but he is a kind person.

(a) Playful

(b) Quarrelsome

(c) Stupid

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[Key]

1. (a), 2 (b), 3. (c), 4 (c), 5. (b), 6. (a), 7. (c), 8. (b), 9. (a), 10 (b)

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Starters :

Future continuous tense

The future continuous tense is used to show that an action will be going on in the future.

At 9 a.m. tomorrow Amara will be singing at the concert.

The future continuous tense is formed in the following way:

will be + base form of the verb + 'ing'

I will be working in Dubai next month.

We do not use some verbs in the future continuous tense. Some of them are: forget, reach, want, hear, remember, wish, last, see.

We can form the future continuous tense using 'shall' for 'I' and 'we'. However, it is more common to use 'will' for all nouns and pronouns.

I shall be attending school next Monday.

We shall be visiting Sigiriya during the vacation.

Activity

Fill in the blanks with 'will' or 'will be' check your answers with the key.

1. Mr. and Mrs. Perera --- visiting Dambulla next week.

2. Father --- stop at Kegalle on his way home.

3. At 8 a.m. tomorrow I -- sitting in the class room.

4. I ---- see you at the library tomorrow.

5. The company --- organising a trip to Kandy.

6. My friend --- leave the island shortly.

7. Sam --- sitting for an exam next month.

8. They --- know what to do tomorrow.

9. ABC Club -- holding an exhibition this week.

10. At night you --- relax and listen to music.

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[Key]

1. will be

2. will

3. will be

4. will

5. will be

6. will

7. will be

8. will

9. will be

10.will

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