що б не

Free-Choice Concessive Що Б Не

Level 6Sounds Like ŝo b ne

The pattern що б не is used to express that a main action remains true regardless of any alternative or circumstance. It translates to 'whatever' or 'no matter what.'

How It Works

The construction що б не introduces a concessive subordinate clause. Here are the key grammatical rules:

  • Orthography: Unlike the conjunction щоб (so that), which is one word, the components of що б не must be written separately.
  • Punctuation: A subordinate clause starting with що б не must be separated from the main clause by a comma.
  • The Particle 'не': This is an expletive or reinforcing particle (підсилювальна частка). It does not make the verb negative. For example, що б не сталося means 'whatever happens,' not 'whatever does not happen.'
  • Verb Form: The verb in the subordinate clause uses the past tense form to create the conditional mood. The verb must agree in gender and number with the subject or the relative pronoun (e.g., що б не сталося is neuter, яка б не була is feminine).
  • Productive Pattern: This construction works identically with other relative pronouns and adverbs to create free-choice meanings: хто б не (whoever), де б не (wherever), як би не (however), or куди б не (wherever to).
  • Case Agreement: The pronoun що can change its case depending on its role in the sentence (e.g., чого б не for Genitive, чому б не for Dative).
  • Euphony: Use б after vowels (що б, хто б) and би after consonants (як би, чим би) to maintain euphony.

Examples (4)

  1. Що б не сталося, ми завжди будемо разом.

    Whatever happens, we will always be together.

    Word by Word: What would not happened, we always will be together.

    This is a very common fixed expression using the past tense neuter form 'сталося'.

  2. Що б він не казав, я все одно йому не вірю.

    Whatever he says, I still don't believe him.

    Word by Word: What would he not said, I all same him not believe.

    Note that 'казав' is in the past tense, but the meaning refers to his general or future statements.

  3. Чого б це не коштувало, ми мусимо перемогти.

    Whatever it costs, we must win.

    Word by Word: Of what would this not cost, we must to win.

    Here, 'що' changes to the genitive 'чого' because the verb 'коштувати' (to cost) often governs the genitive in this context.

  4. Що б ти не вибрав, я підтримаю твоє рішення.

    Whatever you choose, I will support your decision.

    Word by Word: What would you not chose, I will support your decision.

    The use of 'не' reinforces that the specific choice doesn't change the outcome of the support.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing 'що б' as one word 'щоб'.

    Щоб не сталося, я буду там.
    Що б не сталося, я буду там.

    'Щоб' is a conjunction of purpose ('so that'). In this concessive pattern, 'що' is a pronoun and 'б' is a particle, so they must be separate.

  • Using the future tense instead of the past tense.

    Що б не станеться...
    Що б не сталося...

    In Ukrainian conditional and concessive constructions, the past tense form is required to create the subjunctive mood.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

що б неLevel 6Free-Choice Concessive Що Б Не

Learn This First

To understand 'що б не', a learner needs to be familiar with the pronoun 'що', the conditional particle 'б' (which here functions to create a concessive mood), and the use of the negative particle 'не' in this specific non-negative idiomatic context.

Words in This Pattern

б