phrases - Can we use 'what' as a reference to a previous statement?


For example, in a sentence like:


The weather is getting warm, what indicates of the Spring approaching.


I feel that the usage of 'what' here is incorrect, and the appropriate way to say it would be:


The weather is getting warm, it is an indication of the Spring approaching.


Could you explain why using 'what' here is grammaticly incorrect and are there other words to replace 'what' in order to create a reference from one part of the sentence to the other?



Answer



Using what as a relative pronoun, in this way, is a frequent error, made in some regional dialects e.g. Cockney.


It's the Sun wot won it was a famous banner headline in the Sun newspaper, following the Conservatives' unexpected victory in the 1992 General Election. It mimics the way some working-class Cockneys speak.


There are circumstances in which what is correctly used as a relative pronoun in standard English, where it refers to the things which. But as this grammar linkindicates, it should not be used to refer to a preceding noun.


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