Whoever, whichever, whatever, wherever, whenever, however

We can add "-ever" to the question words "who", "which", "what", "where", "when" and
"how":

Question word +
Meaning Example
-"ever"
It doesn't matter who / any Whoever he was, I thought he was very
Whoever
person at all rude.
It doesn't matter which / any All these chairs are free. Take
Whichever
one at all whichever you like.
It doesn't matter what /
Whatever Whatever you do, don't tell mum!
anything at all
It doesn't matter when / any I can meet whenever tomorrow. I'm free
Whenever
time at all all day.
It doesn't matter where / any Wherever are you taking me? I don't
Wherever
place at all recognise this area.
It doesn't matter how / any However I tried, I couldn't solve the
However
way at all puzzle.

When we use these words in questions to express surprise or that we are finding something
difficult to understand, we can write them as one or two words (except "whichever"):

Whatever makes you think that?

What ever makes you think that?

"Whenever" can also be used to mean "every time":

I get butterflies in my stomach whenever I see her.

We can use "whatsoever" after "any" or "no" to mean "at all":

I have no interest in seeing him whatsoever.

There isn't any proof whatsoever that he committed the crime.