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Is using "what" before the clause necessary in some sentences with the structure as <adverb> as <clause>?

For example,

The strawberry milkshake I ordered has twice as much strawberry flavouring as what I normally receive.

Or, would the sentence be better off if I just used "than" instead?

The strawberry milkshake I ordered has twice as much strawberry flavouring than what I normally receive.

niamulbengali
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andrei716
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    To use "than" you would need "more" before. "twice more than"... – fev Jan 22 '21 at 11:45
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    The "what" should not be there. It serves no purpose. Have a look at "What as a relative pronoun" - https://www.englishgrammar.org/relative-pronoun/ – Greybeard Jan 22 '21 at 11:53
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    @Greybeard I must disagree. This is related to a common misconception nohat's answer points out. I am taller than he [is] is more "traditionally correct" (I'd drop traditionally) than I am taller than him [is?]. By the same token, this sentence implies a does: The strawberry milkshake I ordered has twice as much strawberry flavouring as what I normally receive (order) [does]. The what I normally receive refers to an item, not strawberry flavouring. – niamulbengali Jan 22 '21 at 12:03
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    @niamulbengali That cannot be the case: How would you know what what refers to? You would have to say "as the one* I normally receive"* Remove the "what" and you have a good sentence. "as I normally receive" is an adjectival clause modifying "flavouring" - there is no need for the what. Have a look at the link I provided. :) – Greybeard Jan 22 '21 at 12:10
  • @Greybeard It may be correct but lacks parallelism. It makes more sense that the implied verb is "does (have)" because the main verb in the sentence is "has". Your version would have the implied verb "is", which I would consider not parallel. Besides, the context would be "I have x gm of flavouring daily. This has twice as much as I normally receive." This seems less natural than "What I usually have has a lot of flavouring, but this has twice as much as what I usually receive does." – niamulbengali Jan 22 '21 at 12:15
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    @Greybeard,niamulbengali: OP's text is syntactically ambiguous - we can parse it as (1) ...as the normal milkshake** OR (2) ...as the normal amount of flavouring*. I'm not sure that semantically* it makes any difference, though. – FumbleFingers Jan 22 '21 at 12:22
  • @niamulbengali 1. There is no implied verb, hence parallelism is not an issue. 2. The word "than" does not appear and is not required in the OP's example or yours. 3. Basically, the sentence is The strawberry milkshake I ordered has twice as much strawberry flavouring. – Greybeard Jan 22 '21 at 12:25
  • Than is limited to the comparative construction; not just to when you're making a comparison, but only when there's a more or an -er preceding. Than marks the baseline for the comparison, usually a clause, but could be anything. It's not a preposition, it's a special case. It doesn't pied-pipe, for instance: *coffee, than which nothing is better in the morning. – John Lawler Jan 22 '21 at 16:46
  • Thank you all for your input. I will take a look at the link that @Greybeard provided. His argument is the most convincing for me. Cheers! – andrei716 Jan 23 '21 at 16:03

3 Answers3

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The strawberry milkshake I ordered has twice as much strawberry flavouring as what I normally receive.

The following would be idiomatic in informal American English (and your milkshake context is indeed informal):

This milkshake has twice as much strawberry as normal.

This milkshake has twice as much strawberry as it usually has.

This milkshake has twice as much strawberry as what I normally get.

This milkshake has twice as much strawberry as I normally get.

This milkshake has double the strawberry of what I normally get.

This milkshake has twice the strawberry of what I normally get.

This milkshake has a lot more strawberry than usual.

This milkshake has two times more strawberry than usual.

Note "as much ... as" and "more ... than".

TimR
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Your sentence has the following meaning:

Strawberry milkshakes here have twice the strawberry flavoring than whatever other thing I normally get here.

As others have pointed out, If you are trying to say that this milkshake has more strawberry than past milkshakes, you have multiple problems with ambiguity; usage; and for many, grammar. When you fix the ambiguity problems, the other issues will most likely fix themselves.

We don't typically say we receive food items that we ordered. You are probably trying to get the aspectual marking correct, but here that only creates confusion.

Tim's answer shows how to resolve the aspect issues using demonstrative this, and get for receive. You can also use a past perfect for a more formal feel - This milkshake I ordered has twice as much strawberry flavoring as the ones I have gotten before.

Phil Sweet
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This usage of what is:

what ... 2b: that which : the one or ones that

  • no income but what he gets from his writings

[Merriam-Webster]

So

  • The strawberry milkshake I ordered has twice as much strawberry flavouring as what I normally receive.

=

  • The strawberry milkshake I ordered has twice as much strawberry flavouring as that which I normally receive [has/does].

Even the version with 'what' sounds slightly unnatural; I'd say omitting 'what' leads to loss of idiomaticity. It certainly adds ambiguity, with the 'normally receive per day' etc reading probably the default.

Edwin Ashworth
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  • Have a look at the examples in the link I give in my first comment above. as what I normally receive must remind you of Ernie Wise's intentionally comical "The play what I wrote." I cannot see the ambiguity: you may wish to explain it. – Greybeard Jan 22 '21 at 14:23
  • The difference being that EW used 'what' for 'which', not 'that which'. // 'The strawberry milkshake I ordered has twice as much strawberry flavouring as that amount of strawberry flavouring which I normally receive.' – Edwin Ashworth Jan 22 '21 at 14:33
  • Hmm. "that which" is not necessary either - it is pleonastic. Try adding "what"/"that which" to 1875 J. H. Newman Let. 29 Oct. in J. Keble Occas. Papers (1877) p. xiii He had as little aim at literary success in what he wrote, as most authors have a thirst for attaining it. and I'm sure you'll agree that it adds nothing - less is more... – Greybeard Jan 22 '21 at 15:45