問：Whichever they may differ widely in function, all cells have a surrounding membrane and an internal, water-rich substance called cytoplasm.
老師說上述句子的“whichever”用錯了，但我看不出whichever用在這裏有什麽錯誤。
答：然而英文whichever 與 however 用法有一個很重要的區別，就是whichever 在子句中一般用作形容詞（後面要跟著名詞），而however 用法一般在句子中用作副詞（修飾動詞、形容詞或副詞）。此外，含however 用法的子句常常作出讓步副詞：
- She could not remember, however hard she tried. 她不管怎麽努力去回想，還是記不起來了。
- However great the pitfalls may be, we must do our best to succeed. 不管有多大風險，我們也要做出最大的努力去獲得成功。
- The painting looks wrong however you look at it. 這張畫不論怎麽看都顯得不對勁。
小練習：請選出正確的答案。（留言作答）
1. If that idea was wrong, the project is bound to fail, ________ good all the other ideas might be.
A. whatever
B. though
C. whatsoever
D. however
2. __________ troublesome the problem is, he faces it with patience.
A. However
B. No matter
C. Despite
D. Although