English Help Online's Blog

For today, I’d like to write about another useful expression: “no matter”. It is followed by a “wh” word such as “who”, “what”, “where”, “when”, or “how”. It is used when we want to say that something will happen and, even though another thing will make it difficult or inconvenient, we won’t allow it to stop the first thing from happening. For example:

I’m going to go to Europe this summer no matter what my father says.

This recipe is so easy. It will taste good no matter who cooks it.

I’ll have a wonderful time with you no matter where we go.

Please call me anytime you need help no matter when it is.

I’m going to buy the jacket I saw in the store window no matter how much it costs.

So, in these examples, the father might not want the person to go to Europe, the person might be a bad cook, the vacation place might not be so nice, the time of the call might be very late at night, and the jacket might be very expensive. However, the person is saying that these situations don’t matter.