'Whatever happened' or 'What ever happened?'?

Question

I'm writing a story, where the person will ask about the past life of another character. So is it:
'Whatever happened to this person?'
or
'What ever happened to this person?'

I'm pretty sure it's the latter; just wanna double check :)

Answer 1

"Whatever happened?" implies that something has happened. For example, a man comes into the room looking dishevelled, with blood on his face. Obviously something has happened to him. One might say "Whatever has happened?" The "ever" gives emphasis. Used like this also, it could be a sudden enquiry about an old acquaintance that one hasn't seen or heard of for a long time "Whatever happened to Jonathan?" The implication might be that something DID happen, or was expected to happen - perhaps some unusual occurrence.



"What ever happened to this person?" using the two words separately, means something different. It is implying that nothing (out of the ordinary) has happened to this person - they were leading a dull life.

Answer 2

"What ever happened to this person?" is correct in the context of a question (as here).



"Whatever happened to this person" is correct when used, not as a question, but as an introduction to a statement such as "Whatever happened to this person, he would always keep smiling."



Get it?

Answer 3

The two have very different meanings.



"Whatever" is the totality of all that happened. "Whatever life threw at him, he remained calm and happy"



"What ever happened to him? Nothing."

Answer 4

The latter is more correct, but it might be safer to leave out "ever."

Answer 5

''whatever'' can be used instead of ''what'' and ''what ever'' used for emphasis in questions, typically expressing surprise or confusion

Answer 6

i think "what happened" to this person ?