no matter who, etc
Conjunction
No matter can be used with who, whose, what, which, where, when and how. These expressions are similar to conjunctions, and introduce adverbial clauses. The meaning is similar to ‘it is not important who/what, etc’.
- I’ll love you no matter what you do.
- No matter where you go, I’ll follow you.
We use a present tense with a future meaning after no matter (see here).
- No matter where you go, you’ll find people who love music.
- You’ll be welcome no matter when you come.
no matter who, etc and whoever, etc
The expressions no matter who/what, etc are used rather like whoever, whatever, etc (see here). Compare:
- No matter what you say, I won’t believe you.
Whatever you say, I won’t believe you. - Call me when you arrive, no matter how late it is.
Call me when you arrive, however late it is.
However, clauses with whoever/whatever/whichever can be used as subjects or objects. Clauses with no matter who, etc cannot be used in this way.
- Whatever you do is fine with me. (but not
No matter what you do is fine with me.) - You can have whichever you like. (but not
You can have no matter which you like.)
no matter and it doesn’t matter
Because no matter who, etc act like conjunctions, they must be used with two clauses.
- No matter when you come, you’ll be welcome. (but not
No matter when you come.)
To introduce just one clause, we can use It doesn’t matter.
- It doesn’t matter when you come.
No matter what
No matter what can be used at the end of a clause, without a following verb.
- I’ll always love you, no matter what. (= … no matter what happens.)
For sentences like Something’s the matter with my foot, (see here).