Akeem Lasisi
‘What’ is a versatile word. Apart from the fact that it is used to ask questions, it at times functions as a pronoun or a determiner. Besides, it can be a vehicle for conveying emotions in some contexts. In what can be described as its most popular role, here is ‘what’ in questions: What is the matter? What else do you want? What is the difference between a bird and a dog?
But is ‘what’ still being used to ask questions in the statements below?
What a goal!
What a day!
What a shameful act!
No. It is no more asking questions. Rather, it is being used to convey a surprise and other forms of emotions.
‘What’ also enjoys the status of a pronoun in some other situations. Here, it is used instead of a noun, with Cambridge Dictionary noting that the word means ‘the thing/s that’ in this regard:
What we need to do is make a list of useful phone numbers.
(The thing we need to do is make a list of useful phone numbers.)
I can’t decide what we need to buy Lizz for her birthday.
(I can’t decide the thing/gift we need to buy Lizz for her birthday.)
All what he said?
As flexible as ‘what’ is, it does not have the capacity of a relative pronoun. A relative pronoun is the one that introduces a relative clause – the clause that gives information about the preceding noun or noun phrase. Examples of relative clauses are ‘the orange which I bought’, ‘the car that I saw’, ‘the man who designed the flag’ and ‘the woman to whom he gave the pen’. As seen in the examples, the relative pronouns are which, that, who and whom. But what is not a relative pronoun. To underscore this fact, let’s try it in these examples:
The orange that I bought is sweet. (Correct)
The orange what I bought is sweet. (Wrong).
The car that I saw is new. (Correct)
The car what I saw is new. (Wrong)
Unfortunately, some people wrongly use ‘what’ in this context too. This is the genesis of the error such folks commit when they say ‘all what I told you’ instead of ‘all that I told you’:
All what Favour said is a lie. (Wrong)
All that Favour said is a lie. (Correct)
All what I want is true friendship.
All that I want is true friendship. (Correct)
Yet, there is a way ‘what’ can work with the expressions: by dropping ‘All’, for example:
What Favour said is a lie. (Correct)
What I want is true friendship. (Correct)
Well, you may argue that the sentences are not as emphatic as when ‘all’ begins them. You are not wrong; but, grammatically speaking, they are correct. Again, note that ‘everything’ also works well with the expressions:
All that Favour said is a lie. (Correct)
All Favour said is a lie. (Correct)
What Favour said is a lie. (Correct)
Everything that Favour said is a lie. (Correct)
Everything Favour said is a lie. (Correct)
All what Favour said is a lie. (Wrong)
Some experts have further noted that ‘all of what’ is equally acceptable:
All of what Favour said is a lie.
While the perspective is understandable, you should specifically distance your tongue and pen from ‘all what he said.’