Seriously, is it grammatically correct saying "for what?"
I received my friends message which said "I am quite happy." Then I replied her "for what?", but she replied "It is incorrect. I mean the grammar. You can use 'because of what', but you cannot use 'for what' and it is Chinglish." She pretty insisted that I was wrong, but I thought otherwise. Serious, am I wrong? Why?
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Answers · 13
1
You're not necessarily wrong. "For what" can be used as a question but in this instance, it doesn't really work. What for? would be better. As an example, if a friend came to you and said "The police fined me $500 today" you could answer "For what?" but because your friend is talking about her emotional state, "for what?" can come off aggressive. I would say that "for what?" is a legitimate question you can ask when it follows something that isn't personal.
1
'For what' is a little weird of a response. It sounds a little aggressive. 'Because of what' is better or you could simply ask 'why?'
0
One of its meanings IS "because of", so no, you aren't wrong at all. Normally it's used in literature, but "for what" or "what for" is definitely not uncommon (and not wrong).
0
What for? Would be more appropriate
0
"For what?" is fine, but you would use it in response to a statement like "I received this gift card." "For what?"
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