that or what

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Hi, guys. I have a question about English grammar.

Nobody knows for sure (that / what) the world will look like 20 to 25 years from now.

1. that or what
2. and i want to know the reason..

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Type: Question • Score: 1 • Views: 433 • Replies: 9

[+3] - centrox - 06/15/20171. What. 2. We have to use an interrogative pronoun (as in "What will the world look like 20 to 25 years from now?")
[+3] - centrox - 06/16/2017It is not a sentence.

View best answer, chosen by Byunghack Oh

1. What.
2. We have to use an interrogative pronoun (as in "What will the world look like 20 to 25 years from now?")

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@Byunghack Oh,

Quote:

Nobody knows for sure (that / what) the world will look like 20 to 25 years from now.

1. that or what
2. and i want to know the reason..

This is a combination of a statement and a question, which centrox alluded to.

When English speakers combine them the question form is removed as it is no longer a question.

How old are you? --> Nobody knows how old you are.

What is her name? --> I want/need/have to know what her name is.

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@centrox,

Thank you very much.

I have one more question.
Is the sentence, "the world look like 20 to 25 years from now", complete or in complete itself?

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@Byunghack Oh,

It is not a sentence.

0 Replies

@Byunghack Oh,

Quote:

I have one more question.
Is the sentence, "the world look like 20 to 25 years from now", complete or in complete itself?

Other than the missing third person singular 's' on 'look', I would say it is a sentence, centrox. Maybe one that one would be hard pressed to find a context for but a sentence nevertheless.

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@Byunghack Oh,

It is not a sentence, for two very important reasons. Firstly it does not begin with a capital letter and secondly it does not end with a full stop.

1 Reply

@Byunghack Oh,

if I was writing that I would use neither words, they are both mainstream and lost in meaning. In context I would say:
Nobody knows for sure how the world will look like 20 to 25 years from now.

1 Reply

@glen74,

Quote:

if I was writing that I would use neither words, they are both mainstream and lost in meaning. In context I would say:
Nobody knows for sure how the world will look like 20 to 25 years from now.

Any chance of posting an excerpt from that noir novel you're writing?

0 Replies

@glen74,

Quote:

It is not a sentence, for two very important reasons. Firstly it does not begin with a capital letter and secondly it does not end with a full stop.

No sentence ever uttered by any English speaker or any EFL starts with a capital letter nor do any end with a full stop.

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that or what

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