Whichever and whatever are different nouns in English grammar. Nouns are a part of speech, and they can have different uses and meanings, which help form meaningful sentences. The words whichever and whatever are commonly used nouns and also the most confused ones.
Both the words are quite similar concerning their meanings. However, there is a small difference between the two. Let us look at their difference below.
Whichever vs Whatever
Whichever
Whichever is a related or similar term of whatever. It basically means any one of a group. That means whichever is used when we want to convey that a particular choice can be any one from a group of given things. Here, the choice is made from a few things.
For example:
- Here is the collection. You may choose whichever dress you like.
- I am okay with whichever choice you make.
Whatever
On the other hand, although whatever is similar in meaning to whichever, it is mainly used when we refer to literally anything. Here, the choice can be anything or everything. The speaker does not care about the options. So, whatever refers to anything from a big pool of options. It is also used as an adverb to mean of any kind or in any case.
For example:
- You can write whatever you want to.
- Whatever may be the case, no one will make the workers feel bad.
So, this is the main difference between whichever and whatever. Although quite similar in meaning, the context can be different.
