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What's (there) to know?



 
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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
About 'at bay/to bay' | What are five 'Cs'?
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What's (there) to know? Thu Feb 08, 2007 7:47 am  What's (there) to know?
 

Hi,

Could I reword 'What's (there) to know?' as:

What is there worthwhile to know? = There is nothing worth knowing. or there are better rewordings?

Thank you.

haihao
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What's (there) to know? Fri Feb 09, 2007 11:36 am  What's (there) to know?
 

Hi,

'Worthwhile' needs to be followed by 'knowing'

A
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What's (there) to know? Fri Feb 09, 2007 13:50 pm  What's (there) to know?
 

Hi Alan,

Thank you for your indication. This was really a blunder to me. I won't forget it and make the mistake again.

Many thanks again.

Haihao
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What's (there) to know? Fri Feb 09, 2007 19:34 pm  What's (there) to know?
 

Your use of the infinitive should not be seen as a "blunder", Haihao. Unlike 'worth', the word 'worthwhile' can be and often is followed by an infinitive.

The rewording of your sentence depends on whether it's used rhetorically or not -- and you have already given rewordings for both.

As a straightforward question, you might also say:
What is worthwhile, necessary or important to know about this topic/situation?

An alternate rewording of the rhetorical question might be:
This topic or situation is quite clear-cut, so any (further) information about it would be unnecessary and/or irrelevant.
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What's (there) to know? Sat Feb 10, 2007 0:46 am  What's (there) to know?
 

Hi Amy,

Thank you very much for your instruction. I guess I should spend some more time chewing on what you gave me now to digest them up and I love it.

By the way, just out of curiosity, I'd like to know if the 'there' makes any difference grammatically for the idiom when it comes in as:

'What is there to know', which suggests a 'there is...' structure whereas 'What is to know' a SVO: 'what is (the big deal) to know (about). I know this is not a big deal but just like to make sure. Could you help me with it? Thank you.

Haihao
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What's (there) to know? Sat Feb 10, 2007 1:07 am  What's (there) to know?
 

Hi Haihao,

Perhaps I should have expanded on my first comment:

Quote:
'Worthwhile' needs to be followed by 'knowing'

I indicated the use of the 'ing' form in that sentence where what you are saying is the 'action' 'the activity' ie the 'knowing' is worthwhile.

If you say: It's worthwhile to know this information, this is really a contraction of It's worth your/my/her/ while to know this information where the emphasis switches to a personal subject in contrast to the first sentence where there is an impersonal construction.

A
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What's (there) to know? Sat Feb 10, 2007 1:42 am  What's (there) to know?
 

Hi Alan,

Many thanks again. Frankly speaking, the deeper and subtler part of the ideas behind the two words was beyond me then but I happily think I have a much clearer picture about them now.

Haihao
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