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Use -Ever Words Whenever You
Like |
In the song “Whenever, Wherever,” popular Colombian
singer Shakira tells us about a long-distance romance.
At one point in the song, she asserts that time and
distance are of little importance when two people are
meant for each other:
Can't you see
I'm at your feet
Whenever, wherever
We're meant to be together
I'll be there and you'll be near
And that's the deal, my dear…
In the song, Shakira uses the words “whenever” and
“wherever,” meaning “it doesn’t matter when” and “it
doesn’t matter where.”
From popular songs to written and spoken communication,
English speakers use what are called “-ever words” quite
a lot. Today, we will explore the meanings and uses of
these words.
Each one is formed by taking what we call “wh- question
words” –like when and where -- and adding the word -ever
to them.
A common structure for -ever words is: -ever word +
subject + verb.
And, as you will see, each word has two main meanings,
and they are not very different.
Whatever
Let’s start with the word whatever. The word whatever
can mean “anything” at all or “it doesn’t matter what.”
Listen to an example:
You can have whatever you like.
This sentence means: “You can have anything that you
like.”
Whatever also means “it doesn’t matter what.”
Listen:
Whatever you do, don’t come home after sunset!
This sentence means: “I don’t care what you are doing.
Just don’t come after sunset!” In this case, “Whatever
you do” is a not a necessary clause, but is used to
emphasize when to return home.
Whichever
Our next -ever word is whichever. The word whichever can
mean “any one of a group” or “it doesn’t matter which.”
English learners may ask about the difference between
whichever and whatever. Here’s what’s different:
whichever is used when identifying from a set of choices
that are known to both the speaker and the listener.
Listen:
Those three hats are the nicest. Choose whichever you
like best and I’ll buy it.
This means: “Choose any one of the three hats and I’ll
buy it.”
The word whichever also means “it doesn’t matter which.”
Listen:
I’m not sure whether I want to go to Martinique,
Guadeloupe or St. Lucia.
Whichever trip you choose, I’m sure you’ll get lots of
time in the sun.
The second speaker is saying: “It doesn’t matter which
trip you choose. I’m sure you’ll get to spend a lot of
time in the sun.”
Whoever
Our next -ever word is: whoever or whomever. Unlike
other -ever words, this word has two forms.
The word whomever has become less common over the years
because of the difficulty people have had knowing when
to use it. Today, whoever is more popular in American
English.
The word whoever can mean “any person” or “it doesn’t
matter who.”
Listen:
Whoever told you that didn’t know much about cars.
This means: “Any person who gave you that piece of
information did not know much about cars.”
Whoever also means “it doesn’t matter who.”
Listen:
Whoever you go with, make sure they bring their cell
phone.
The speaker is saying that it doesn’t matter who you go
with. Make sure they bring their phone.
Now we’ll tell you about wherever, whenever and however
and give you some sentence examples. But this time,
instead of us telling you the meaning, you can tell us
the meaning in the Comments section.
Wherever
Our next word -- wherever -- can mean “in at or to any
place” or “it doesn’t matter where.”
Listen an example:
Home can be wherever you find happiness.
And here’s another one:
Wherever the boy went, the dog followed.
Tell us what you think each sentence means.
Whenever
Onto our next -ever word: whenever. This word can mean
“at any time” or “it doesn’t matter when.”
Here’s one example:
I’m going to stay for another hour. Feel free to leave
whenever you want.
And here’s another:
Whenever you have time, let’s sit down and have some
pie.
Did you guess the meanings of these whenever sentences?
In the second example the word whenever is used simply
to emphasize that this can happen when the person has
time. Replacing whenever with the word when would
express the same basic meaning.
However
Now, let’s move on to our final -ever word for today:
however. As you may know, however can have a few
meanings, including being a synonym for the word but.
But today, we’ll talk about its meanings as an -ever
word. However can mean “in any way” or “it doesn’t
matter how.”
Listen to an example:
We will help you however we can.
Here’s the second example:
However you do it, please finish it by 10 tomorrow
morning.
Tell us what you think the meanings are in the Comments.
What can you do?
So, how can you become comfortable using -ever words?
The next time you’re reading something, listening to a
song, or watching a film or television show in English,
look for examples of -ever words.
Then, try using them in your everyday conversations. If
you practice these words enough, you’ll be able to use
them whenever and wherever you like.
I’m Alice Bryant.
Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English.
George Grow was the editor. |
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