constitute

[Ashiuhto]

Please check out the following sentence. Which option is acceptable?

Different cultures may have different ideas about ______________________________.

A. what good writing constitutes
B. what constitutes good writing
C. what is good writing constituted
D. what is constituted good writing

My answer is B.
(However, I am confused A and B. Please explain to me. Thanks!)

[emsr2d2]

It's the construction used after "[about] what" when the rest of the sentence involves an adjective.

I have a few ideas about what tastes good.
I have no idea what tastes good.
I don't know what smells bad.
We don't know what looks best.

If you imagine that a question was asked beforehand, it might help:

What tastes good?
I have no idea what tastes good.

What smells bad?
I don't know what smells bad.


If what follows is not an adjective, then we use the construction you're probably more used to:

Who is her favourite?
I don't know who her favourite is.

What is that smell?
I have no idea what that smell is.