'That' vs. 'What'

That-clauses(절)

동사, 형용사, 혹은 명사를 부연 설명을 하는 다음의 절과 연결 할 때 접속사 'that'을 사용한다.

 

동사 + that-clause

정보를 전달 하는 데 사용하는 동사(say, tell, admit, etc.) 그리고 사고를 의미하는 동사(believe, think, know, hope, etc.) 뒤에 흔히 사용한다:

• The government said that seven million workers stayed at home due to COVID-19.
• The survey indicated that a majority of Koreans prefer to live in apartment buildings than private houses.
• He knew that something bad had happened.
• Do you think that English is the most important language or that it is just another one?

 

형용사 + that-clause

의견과 감정을 표현할 때 '형용사 + that-clause'를 사용한다. 형용사(sure, certain, right, important, afraid, pleased, sorry, surprised, worried)는 이와 같은 방식으로 흔히 사용된다. 구체적인 의미가 없고 문법적인 역할만 하는 'that'은 생략 되기도 한다:

• It's important (that) we need to learn English on a daily basis.
• I'm sure (that) you will benefit from the trip.
• He was afraid (that) they would burrow into his past.

 

명사 + that-clause

확신과 가능성에 대해서 의견과 감정을 표현할 때 '명사 + that-clause'를 사용한다. 또한, 생각 혹은 정보 전달과 관련된 명사(argument, belief, claim, comment, fact, hope, idea, possibility, suggestion, statement)와 함께 흔히 사용된다:

• How many of us would be willing to give up some minor convenience in the hope that this might extend the life of man on earth by a hundred years?  
• There’s a strong possibility that we’ll lose the game.

 

What as a pronoun(대명사)

'the thing(s) that'을 의미하는 대명사로 'what'을 사용한다:

What we need to do is to replicate it. (the thing we need to do)

Parents also may ask their teenagers' advice about what to buy.

They understand what I have been through.

What really matters is what you do with what you have. [진짜 문제는 너가 소유한 것을 가지고 무엇을 하는 것이다.]

 

 

The bottom line

that + 절 vs. what + 절 (주어 혹은 목적어가 생략된 절)