I keep seeing 什么什么 的话 what does this mean, what does it do to the words in front of 的话
@jsbart96: 什么什么 is an expression, or pattern, that signals to the speaker that you either didn’t hear or didn’t understand that part of the sentence. When used it will usually prompt the speaker to repeat themselves. Basically you’re saying “I couldn’t hear you, say again…”
tomsu did not tell you the full story about “… 的话”.
“如果⋯⋯的话，⋯⋯” (rúguǒ … de huà, …) is a pattern commonly used in Chinese to express “if.” An easy way to remember the pattern’s format is that in the full form, the condition is “sandwiched” between 如果 and 的话.
Keep in mind that the 的话 at the end is optional, and even the leading 如果 (or similar IF-word) is optional!
(如果) 你去的话，…。
If you go, …
那样的话 …
If so … / If that kind … / if that sort …
See Expressing "if" with "ruguo... dehua" - Chinese Grammar Wiki
Thank you for clarifying. I didn’t tell the full story because I only knew the 什么什么 part 