Relative clauses - wrong use of what

[Jon]

I know this is incorrect:

"Where is the festival what you told me about?"

same happend here:

"The sweter what I washed ..."

but Could you wxplain why

thanks a lot !!

[Torsten]

Hi,

Please read this Relative Pronoun and let us know what you think.
Regards,
Torsten

TOEIC listening, photographs: Downhill skiing

[Jon]

Ok I have read it, thanks

Please could you confirm that in the sentences above the error is that "what" is used as description clause ???

So the correct ones should be without "what"

thakns, again

[Torsten]

Yes, you can simply leave out "what" in your sentences and they will be correct.

TOEIC listening, photographs: At the lathe

[Yankee]

Hi alumno

Instead of using the word 'what', you could use 'that' in your sentences. However, the word 'that' is optional. So, as Torsten said, you could make your sentences correct simply by removing the word 'what':

"Where is the festival (that) you told me about?"
"The sweater (that) I washed ..."
.
_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln

[Jon]

Ok, thanks a lot for those good comments that make me think...

So... The sentences could be made correct by using 'which' instead of 'that'... right?

thanks

[Yankee]

Hi alumno

The sentences would be correct with the word 'that'.

The word 'which' is more often used in a non-defining clause (and a non-defining clause would also be separated from the rest of the sentence with commas).

Example of a non-defining clause:

The Festival of Lights, which is held annually, starts today at 6 pm.

The clause "which is held annually" is "extra information" in the sentence.
.
_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln