Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[yffjcn]

--What clothes should we wear to attend the hall?
--Dress whatever you like. OR Dress however you like.

which one is right?

[pugachevV]

Dress however you like.
OR, Wear whatever you like.

[dragn]

PugachevV is right. However, just in case you want to know (or need to know) why he's right, think of it this way:

In the sentence Dress whatever you like, the word whatever basically means anything that; it must refer to a noun. Unfortunately, dress is a verb here. That's why it makes no sense. In the sentence Dress however you like, the word however basically means in any manner; it must refer to a verb. Bingo.

The reason the sentence Wear whatever you like is also correct using the verb wear is because in that case the word whatever is not referring to the verb wear. It's referring to its object: the clothing you will ultimately wear, which is a noun. In Dress however you like, the verb dress is intransitive and so has no object. That's why we take it to mean Dress in any manner you like.

I hope that makes sense.

Greg