Etwas... was?

[whitep]

Can you give an example of when people shorten "etwas" to just " 'was", and when I should NOT do this! I always avoid doing this not to mess up!

[FleurDeLis]

Generally speaking, "etwas" can be (and usually is) shortened to just "was" in colloquial speech. You don't usually see this in formal speech or in writing.

[McSupreme]

for germans the word "etwas" means a undifined small quantity. "Iss was" -> "Eat something" , but "Iss etwas" sounds like "Eat a little bit". In generaly siebolt is right. The safe side is to use "etwas". That's nearly alway correct. :)

[siebolt]

And if you want to stay on the safe side: always write etwas. But: in a question : Was ist das?