what little remains

[Maybo]

= the small amount that remains

Why do we need "that" for 'the small amount' and we don't need 'that' for 'little'?

 

[White Hat]

I believe you could say 'That little that remains'.

 

[PaulMatthews]

I have a problem with 'little". Was something omitted from it 'but what little (stuff) ...'? Is it a pronoun or determiner?

It's a determinative in a 'fused' determiner-head construction, understood as "little food etc."

 

[emsr2d2]

Why do we need "that" for 'the small amount' and we don't need 'that' for 'little'?

I don't understand this question. "That" is required with either version.

The small amount that remains is in the black box.
The little that remains is in the black box.

Basically, you simply replace "small amount" with "little", in this context.

 

[PaulMatthews]

Why do we need "that" for 'the small amount' and we don't need 'that' for 'little'?

what litte remains of the enclave's food, fuel and water supplies

The idea is not just a word-level claim that "that + which" = "what". In "what little remains ..." we have an NP "what little" serving
simultaneously as the head of a larger NP and as the wh-phrase at the beginning of a relative clause. Externally, "what little remains ..."
behaves like an NP; internally, it looks just like a relative clause (though with a wh-word "what", not ordinarily allowed in relative
clauses in Standard English).

I think that's a better explanation.

 

[Maybo]

I don't understand this question. "That" is required with either version.

The small amount that remains is in the black box.
The little that remains is in the black box.

Basically, you simply replace "small amount" with "little", in this context.

Can I replace "little" with "small amount", in the following sentence?

"...southern Gaza, but what small amount remains of the enclave's food..."

I think that's a better explanation.

I understand this structure "What I like is eating". Is it the same structure as "what little remains of the enclave's food, fuel and water supplies were dwindling fast"?

 

[Tarheel]

Can I replace "little" with "small amount", in the following sentence?

"...southern Gaza, but what small amount remains of the enclave's food..."

Yes.

 

[kttlt]

Can that sentence be rephrased into "... the few remains of the enclave's food, fuel and water supplies were dwindling fast.", thus turning "remains" into a plural noun?

 

[Tarheel]

That doesn't work for me.

 

[tedmc]

I think "what little remain (of something)" is a set phrase.

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[White Hat]

I understand this structure "What I like is eating". Is it the same structure as "what little remains of the enclave's food, fuel and water supplies were dwindling fast"?

That's a good way of looking at it. Except I'd use a singular verb before 'dwindling fast'.

 

[PaulMatthews]

Can I replace "little" with "small amount", in the following sentence?

"...southern Gaza, but what small amount remains of the enclave's food..."

Grammatically, yes. The basic analysis would remain the same.

I understand this structure "What I like is eating". Is it the same structure as "what little remains of the enclave's food, fuel and water supplies were dwindling fast"?

No, it's a different structure, and "what" is a pronoun here, not a determinative.

It is again a fused relative construction, but here the fusion involves the pronoun "what".

The meaning is like that of the non-fused (and more formal) "That which I like is eating".

 

[Maybo]

No, it's a different structure, and "what" is a pronoun here, not a determinative.

How about this? "What I drew was beautiful". If the sentence is a different structure, could you give me some examples?

 

[PaulMatthews]

How about this? "What I drew was beautiful". If the sentence is a different structure, could you give me some examples?

It's the same basic structure as "What I like is eating".

The meaning is "That which I drew was beautiful".

 

[kttlt]

That doesn't work for me.

Are you replying to my question in post #28? If so, could you explain why the suggested sentence is incorrect?

 

[emsr2d2]

Are you replying to my question in post #28? If so, could you explain why the suggested sentence is incorrect?

I wouldn't call it incorrect.