Dear N:

You wrote:

Which are correct:

1-The writer who had written I knew not what books won the first prize.

2-The writer who had written I did not know what books won the first prize.

3-The writers regarding whom I did not know what books won the first prize.

4-I did not know what books a writer had written.

That writer won the first prize. I think “1” is pejorative. (He had written God knows what books!) “2” also seems pejorative to me. “3” seems correct but convoluted.

Gratefully,

N

These are all pretty convoluted except for #4.

1 and 2 did make sense. There is nothing especially pejorative about either one. Indeed, it may even appear that the speaker is ignorant because he or she had never heard of this prize-winning author. The clause embedded in the middle does perhaps suggest emphasis, but not necessarily pejoration.

3 makes no sense at all. I have no idea what that is trying to say. It appears once again you are using a phrase (in this case a verbal phrase beginning with “regarding”) when English would use a clause. Perhaps you were trying to say “I am not familiar with those writers, but they won first prize”?

4 makes sense, except that you would say “the writer” since you are talking about a specific writer. “The” is the specific article.