what ¹³

一般都把 what 理解为“the thing which”，即理解为单数，因此，what 在从句中充当主语时，其谓语动词应取单数形式：

1. Give me what there is. (Palmer) 把有的(东西)都给我。

2. What is over is over. (Wilde) 过去的事情就让它过去吧。

3. What was once a palace is now a pile of rubble. (CGEL) 过去曾经是宫殿的地方现在是一片瓦砾。

但是,有时候人们把 what 理解为复数(those which 或 the things which):

1. We can see what appear to be camels. (Wood) 我们能看到的似乎是骆驼。

2. What were once truth are true no longer. 曾经是真理的东西现在已不再是真理了。

3. In some countries, what are called “Public Schools” are not owned by the state. 在某些国家，被叫做“公立学校”的机构并不归国家所有。

当 what 从句充当主语从句时,其谓语动词的数也是取决于对 what 所代表的数的理解:

1. What I should like most for a birthday present is a camera. (Wood) 我最喜欢的生日礼物, 就是一个照相机。

2. What were supposed to be new proposals were in fact modifications of earlier ones. 被看作是新建议的东西,其实是先前建议的改头换面而已。

3. You need not get any more stamps; what we have are quite sufficient. (Wood) 你不必再买邮票了；我们手头上的已足够了。

4. $\$left\{ \begin{array}{l} \text {What I say and do are my own affair.} \\ \text {What I say and do is my own affair. (CGEL)} \end{array} \right. 我所说的和我所做的是我自己的事。

5. What are sovereign property rights to some people are nothing at all to Stanley. (Crews) 在某些人看来是至高无上的财产权，对斯坦利来说是毫无意义的。

6. What were left behind were five empty bottles. 所留下的东西是五个空瓶子。

7. What the bourgeoisie, therefore, produces, above all, are its own gravediggers. 它首先生产的是它自身的掘墓人。(《共产党宣言》, p. 35)

8. What I had done with Monica Lewinsky was immoral and foolish. (B. Clinton, My Life) 我和莫妮卡曾做的事情是不道德的、愚蠢的。(《我的生活》)

9. Now I think what he didn't want was to lead another losing effort. I do understand that. (B. Clinton, My Life) 现在我认为，他不想要的是另一次竹篮打水。这我的确能理解。（《我的生活》）

10. But strange as it was for a kid of ten years old, what really dominated my TV viewing that summer were the Republican and Democratic conventions. (B. Clinton, My Life) 但说起来奇怪，那年夏天我这个年仅十岁的孩子真正注意看的电视节目却是共和党和民主党的代表大会。（《我的生活》）