Homework Help Forum: English
Posted by rfvv on Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 11:13pm.
e.g. Can you repeat what he said?
1. Can you repeat the thing which he said? (what =relative pronoun)
2. Can you repeat___? + What did he say? (what=interrogative pronoun)
(What does the example sentence mean? Does it mean #1 or #2? Is 'what' a relative pronoun or an interrogative pronoun?))
English - Writeacher, Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 3:21am
The first sentence and #1 mean about the same thing.
In #1, "which" is a relative pronoun.
In #2, "What" is an interrogative pronoun.
==================
Thank you for your help.
e.g. Can you repeat what he said?
(Then, Is 'what' a relative pronoun? Can 'what' be 'an intrrogative pronoun?)
Yes, "what" is a relative pronoun in that sentence. It can be an interrogative program if it introduces the question.
Ex -- What are you doing after school today?
Yes, in the sentence "Can you repeat what he said?", "what" is a relative pronoun. A relative pronoun is used to introduce a relative clause, which gives more information about a noun or pronoun in the main clause. In this case, "what" is referring to the thing that he said.
However, "what" can also be an interrogative pronoun. An interrogative pronoun is used to ask a question and does not introduce a relative clause. For example, in the sentence "What did he say?", "what" is asking for information and is not connected to any noun or pronoun in the main clause.
So, in the sentence "Can you repeat what he said?", "what" is a relative pronoun. But in the sentence "What did he say?", "what" is an interrogative pronoun.