The "-ever" words...?

Question

I have a question about those "-ever" words: however, whenever, whatever, whichever, and whoever.

How would you say these in Spanish?

I'm aware of the "-quiera" method of forming these words:

Dondequiera, cuandoquiera, etc.

But I've been told these are "poetic" and would sound odd in everyday spoken Spanish.

I've also been told the "+ sea method":

Donde sea - wherever

Cuando sea - whenever

Lo que sea - whatever

I was wondering which is the best way to say these "-ever" words? Are the ones I listed correct? Are there different ways of saying these words (i.e. other colloquialisms, etc.)?

And how would you use these words in an everyday sentence?

nice question - dewclaw, Apr 26, 2011

Great question. - --Mariana--, Apr 26, 2011

Answer 1

however = sin embargo

however hard it is = por duro que sea

whenever I go... = siempre que voy...

whenever possible = cuando sea posible / siempre que sea posible

whatever happens = pase lo que pase

whatever you want = lo que (tú) quieras

whichever you prefer = el que (tú) prefieras

whichever car you ... = No importa que carro...

whoever = quien sea / cualquiera

whoever wins... = Quienquiera que gane...

Thank you for your answer! "Whoever wins" could also said as "Quien sea que gane", right? - Azabache, Apr 27, 2011

Answer 2

Now I'm not the expert on this, but from what I can tell, "donde sea," "cuando sea," and "lo que sea" seem to work to mean -ever.

I've also seen: Puedes comer cuando quieras. You can eat whenever you want.

So it seems to me that in many of the occasions where you would use a -ever word in English, you need the subjuntive in Spanish in order to show the uncertainty of the phase.

I'm interested to see what others have to say about this

Thanks for your reply! And I think you're right about the subjunctive part. - Azabache, Apr 26, 2011

Answer 3

If you think about it, we use alot of the "evers" in English, but are they really necessary? Your question is very thought-provoking.