Difference between which and what

[bebo]

Test No. errors/elem-14 "Listen and Improve Your English", question 2

First of all there was the verb to listen to what means in effect deliberately to hear something.

(a) First of all
(b) what
(c) something

Test No. errors/elem-14 "Listen and Improve Your English", answer 2

First of all there was the verb to listen to which means in effect deliberately to hear something.

Correct entry: which
The error was: (b) what
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when do we use some?

[Alan]

This is a so-called partitive article and refers to a general amount or quantity as in: He has brought some food/biscuits for the meal.
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Womens' Day

[huyen]

I think there should be a comma after "first of all".

[Alan]

Do you?

Alan
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English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Phrasal Verbs/go

[Meredith]

I know that British & American English differ in some uses of the comma, and perhaps BE now uses fewer commas than AE. In the quiz sentence quoted below, I'd add a comma after the introductory phrase "First of all," as another reader suggested. But the sentence can be understood without that comma.
I find the main clause, however, very difficult to understand without any commas and without quotes or italics marking the phrase "to listen to."

First of all there was the verb to listen to what means in effect deliberately to hear something.

The impulse is to read it as "to listen to what means in effect...," making the error hard to spot. I read and reread the sentence and finally had to check the answer!

Interesting sentence, and a terrific web site

thanks
Meredith

[Conchita]