He can tell you whatever you want to know.

=He can tell you anything that you want to know.

你想要知道什麼他都可以告訴你。

上列句中的whatever是複合關係代名詞, 即等於anything that, 譯成『所……的任何東西』, 其所引導的名詞子句作句中tell的直接受詞。

注意:

所謂複合關係代名詞係由兩個詞類複合而成:

一方面含有先行詞 (如anyone、the thing(s)、anything), 一方面又含有關係代名詞 (如who、whom、which、that)。複合關係代名詞共有下列數個:

　whoever=anybody who (任何……的人)

　whomever=anybody whom (任何……的人)

　what=the thing(s) that (所……的東西)

　whatever=anything that (所……的任何東西)

　whichever=any one that (同一類的任何一個……, 表三者或三者以上)

a. whoever的用法:

使用whoever作複合關係代名詞時, 先視whoever為兩個字, 即anyone who; 由於anyone是代名詞, 在主要子句中可作主詞或受詞, 而who為主格的關係代名詞, 故在所引導的形容詞子句中只能作主詞。

1) 作主詞　

例: Whoever makes such a mistake should be punished.

　= Anyone who makes such a mistake should be punished.

　　主詞       　　形容詞子句     　　　及物動詞的被動語態

　(任何犯此錯的人都應受罰。)

2) 作受詞:

例: I hate whoever tells lies.

　= I  hate  anyone who tells lies.

　及物動詞 受詞  形容詞子句

　(我痛恨任何說謊的人。)

　千萬不可寫成:

　I hate whomever tells lies. (╳)

理由:

因whomever = anyone whom, 而whom在其引導的形容詞子句中只能作受詞, 不可能作主詞, 故whom之後不可能有動詞tells。

b. whomever的用法:

我們已知whomever等於anyone whom, 因whom為受格的關係代名詞, 故在所引導的形容詞子句中只能作受詞; 而且此處的anyone也只能在主要子句中作受詞, 因此whomever絕不可作主詞。

例: Whomever you hate must be bad. (╳)

　→Anyone whom you hate  must be   bad. (○)

  　主詞   形容詞子句   be動詞 　主詞補語

　(你所討厭的人一定都是壞人。)

　Give it to whomever you like.

　= Give it to anyone whom you like.

           　 介詞 受詞  形容詞子句

　(把它給任何你喜歡的人。)

c. what的用法:

what是最常見的複合關係代名詞, 即等於the thing(s)that, 譯成『所……的東西』, 使用時前面不可有先行詞 (名詞), 且what所引導的名詞子句在主要子句中可作主詞、受詞或be動詞後的主詞補語。

1) 作主詞:

例: What he said may be true.

　      主詞

　(他所說的可能是真的。)

2) 作受詞:

例: I believe what he said.

　 　及物動詞  受詞

　(我相信他所說的話。)

　I am interested in what he said.

         　　　　 介詞  受詞

　(我對他所說的很感興趣。)

3) 在be動詞後作主詞補語:

例: This is what happened yesterday.

　　　 be動詞    主詞補語

　　(這就是昨天所發生的事。)

注意:

因what等於the thing(s) that, that為關係代名詞, 在所引導的形容詞子句中作主詞或受詞, 因此what在所引導的名詞子句中也是作主詞或受詞。

例: What is good for you may not be good for others.

　　　　 主詞

　= The thing that is good for you may not be good for others.

　(對你有益的東西對別人未必有益。)

　I can hardly believe what I have just heard.

                             　　　  受詞

　= I can hardly believe the thing that I have just heard.

　(我幾乎無法相信我剛剛所聽到的話。)

d. whatever的用法:

whatever等於anything that, 譯成『所……的任何東西』, 語氣比what要強; anything在主要子句中可作主詞或受詞, 而that在所引導的形容詞子句中亦可作主詞或受詞。

1) 作主詞:

例: Whatever he said is true.

　= Anything that he said      is          true.

　  主詞  　形容詞子句    be動詞    主詞補語

　(他所說的任何話都是實話。)

2) 作受詞:

例: You may do whatever you like.

　= You may do anything that you like.

       　  及物動詞   受詞    形容詞子句

　　(你可以做任何你喜歡的事。)

　　He doesn't care about whatever may happen.

　　= He doesn't care about anything that may happen.

                    　　　  介詞   受詞   形容詞子句

　　(發生任何事他都不在乎。)

e. whichever的用法:

whichever與whatever的用法完全相同, 只不過whichever是指同一類的任何一項, 而whatever則指不同類的任何一項。如果同一類的東西是三者或三者以上時, whichever等於any one that; 若同一類的東西為兩者時, 則whichever等於either that。

例: I have a car, a house and an orchard and you may have whatever

　　　　不同類的東西

　　you like best.

　 (我有一輛車，一棟房子和一座果園，你可以挑一樣你最喜歡的。)

　I have three cars, and you may have whichever you like.

　　　　同一類的東西

　= I have three cars, and you may have any one that you like.

　(我有三輛車，你可以挑一輛你喜歡的。)

　There are two books here. You may take whichever you like.

　　　       同一類的東西

　= There are two books here. You may take either that you like.

　(這裡有兩本書，你可以拿其中一本你所喜歡的。)

So, however expensive the taxi ride may be, the advice you get from the driver will certainly be worth it.

=So, no matter how expensive the taxi ride may be, the advice you get from the driver will certainly be worth it.

　所以, 不論搭計程車多麼昂貴, 你從司機那裡所得到的建議絕對是值得的。

上列句中的however是副詞連接詞, 表『不論/不管如何』, 即等於no matter how。

注意:

凡表『不論/不管……』的副詞連接詞, 均可用"no matter + 疑問詞"來表示, 常見者有下列:

a. no matter how　　不論/不管如何

　=however

　how是疑問副詞, 在其引導的副詞子句中, 除可修飾動詞外, 亦可修飾形容詞或副詞。

1) 修飾動詞:

例: No matter how you may do it, you should do it with care.

　= However you may do it, you should do it with care.

　(不管你怎麼辦這事，都得小心。)

2) 修飾形容詞:

例: No matter how he is competent, I don't want to hire him. (╳)

　理由:應將形容詞competent移至how之後。

　　→No matter how competent he is, I don't want to hire him. (○)

　　= However competent he is, I don't want to hire him.

　　(無論他多有能力，我都不想雇用他。)　

3) 修飾副詞:

例: No matter how he runs fast, he can't catch up with me. (╳)

理由:應將副詞fast移至how之後。

　→No matter how fast he runs, he can't catch up with me. (○)

　= However fast he runs, he can't catch up with me.

　(無論他跑得多快，都趕不上我。)

注意:

however除可作副詞連接詞外, 尚可作連接性副詞 (有連接詞的意味, 但仍只是副詞, 而非連接詞), 譯成『然而』, 使用時, 常置於句首, 其後加逗點; 或置於兩子句中, 其前置分號, 其後加逗點; 亦可作插入語用, 置於句中, 前後以逗點相隔。

例: She is pretty. However, I don't like her.

　= She is pretty; however, I don't like her.

　= She is pretty. I, however, don't like her.

　(她長得很漂亮，然而我卻不喜歡她。)

b. no matter what　　不論什麼

　=whatever

注意:

由於what是疑問代名詞, 故在所引導的副詞子句中, 要作主詞、受詞或在be動詞後作主詞補語。

1) 作主詞:

例: No matter what happens, you should stay with me.

　= Whatever happens, you should stay with me.

　(無論發生什麼事，你都要和我在一起。)

2) 作受詞:

例: No matter what you may do, you should be careful.

　= Whatever you may do, you should be careful.

　(無論你做什麼事都得小心。)

3) 在be動詞後作主詞補語:

例: No matter what you are, you shouldn't do that.

　= Whatever you are, you shouldn't do that.

　(不管你是誰，都不該做那種事。)

c. no matter who　　不論誰

　=whoever

注意:

由於who是疑問代名詞, 故在所引導的副詞子句中, 要作主詞, 或在be動詞後作主詞補語; 且因who是主格, 故不可作受詞。

1) 作主詞:

例: No matter who does it, he should be responsible for it.

　= Whoever does it, he should be responsible for it.

　(不管是誰做的，都得負起責任。)

2) 在be動詞後作主詞補語:

例: No matter who you are, you should obey the law.

　= Whoever you are, you should obey the law.

　(不管你是誰，都該守法。)

注意:

whatever與whoever除可作副詞連接詞, 等於no matter what、no matter who外, 亦可作複合關係代名詞, 等於anything that、anyone who。要注意的是, whatever和whoever作副詞連接詞時, 所引導副詞子句與主要子句中間要有逗點相隔; 而作複合關係代名詞時, 則無逗點相隔。

比較:

1) 作副詞連接詞:

例: Whatever he said , it was a lie.

　= No matter what he said, it was a lie.

　(不論他說了什麼，那都是謊話。)

　Whoever made the mistake , he should be punished.

　= No matter who made the mistake, he should be punished.

　(不論誰犯了這個錯，都應受處罰。)

2) 作複合關係代名詞:

例: Whatever he said was a lie.

　= Anything that he said was a lie.

　(他所說的話都是謊言。)

　Whoever makes the mistake should be punished.

　= Anyone who makes the mistake should be punished.

　(任何人犯了錯都應受處罰。)

d. no matter whom　　不論誰

　=whomever

注意:

由於whom是受格的疑問代名詞, 故在所引導的副詞子句中只能作受詞。

例: No matter whom you like, it is none of my business.

　= Whomever you like, it is none of my business.

　(無論你喜歡誰，都與我無關。)

e. no matter which　　不論哪一個

　=whichever

注意:

由於which是疑問代名詞, 故在所引導的副詞子句中要作主詞、受詞, 或在be動詞後作主詞補語。

1) 作主詞:

例: No matter which may be used, check it first.

　　　　= Whichever may be used, check it first.

　　　　(無論要用哪一個，先檢查一下再說。)

2) 作受詞:

例: No matter which you want to buy, you must make sure it is useful.

　= Whichever you want to buy, you must make sure it is of useful.

　(不管你要買哪一個，務必求實用。)

3) 在be動詞後作主詞補語:

例: No matter which it is, I don't like it.

　= Whichever it is, I don't like it.

　(無論是哪一個，我都不喜歡。)

f. no matter when　　不論何時

　=whenever

注意:

由於when為疑問副詞, 故在所引導的副詞子句中只用以修飾動詞。

例: No matter when he comes, I will wait for him.

                  　　 　     動詞

　　= Whenever he comes, I will wait for him.

　　(無論他何時來，我都會等他。)

g. no matter where　　不論何處

　=wherever

注意:

由於where亦為疑問副詞, 故在所引導的副詞子句中只用以修飾動詞。

例: No matter where he lives, I will find him.

                      　　　 　動詞

　= Wherever he lives, I will find him.

　(無論他住在哪兒，我都會找到他。)