Whatever, Whoever, However, and No Matter: Free Choice and Concession

Words such as whatever and whoever can identify an unrestricted choice or introduce a concession. The grammar looks similar, but the discourse job is different.

Choose whatever you prefer means “any thing that you prefer.” Whatever you decide, we will support you means “even if your decision differs from what we expect.”

Two grammatical jobs

Free-choice relatives can fill a noun position: Whoever arrives first will open the room. This connects with nominal relative clauses.

Concessive clauses frame an obstacle: However carefully you plan, something may change. Compare this with condition and concession linkers. A common error is leaving the concessive clause as a fragment; connect it to a complete main clause.