Using 'what' instead of 'that'

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

Moderator: Alan

Locked
jesssiobhan
Member
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:05 am
Status: Teacher of English

Using 'what' instead of 'that'

Post by jesssiobhan »

Hi!

I am at the beginning of my teacher training and doing a case study on a Hungarian learner of English.

I have noticed that she often uses the word 'what' where 'that' would be more appropriate. For example 'the things what I want', 'nothing what we could follow'.

Does anybody know why she would make this mistake? What is what / that used for in these sentences? I'm not sure what type of word it actually is. And also ways that I could help her correct this?

Thanks!
User avatar
Alan
Teacher/Moderator
Teacher/Moderator
Posts: 15193
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2003 7:56 pm
Status: Teacher of English
Location: Japan

Re: Using 'what' instead of 'that'

Post by Alan »

I am not a Hungarian speaker, but would imagine the only likely reason for the error to be that, in her own language, the equivalent word would serve as a relative pronoun.

(I'm afraid that we do not provide teaching tips in this forum. Try 'Help each other with English'.)
Locked