"in such way" vs "in such a way"

[conjurer]

do you think that "in such way" is wrong grammar? I've tried searching the web but no information on this issue...

 

[RonBee]

Do you have a sentence in which it is used? In any case, I don't think "in such way" is good English. However, "in such a way" would be okay, depending on context.

 

[Tdol]

You could also use the plural, where appropriate, but I'd use it with an indefinite article in the singular. ;-)

 

[conjurer]

hehe, I agree with you... the thing is, I'm having a hard time convincing some people that "in such way" is bad english.. especially since I can't find written rules about this anywhere on the net.

That's why I can't give you a sentence - I just wondered if there is a general law about this..

 

[Tdol]

'Way'is a countable noun and 'such' takes an indefinite article with an uncountable- just as you'd say 'such a day', not 'such day' in most circumstances, then the same is true of way. ;-)

 

[conjurer]

thanks for that explanation...

What do u think of:

"in such way that I would be able to do something"

This one doesn't sound "bad english" to me.. at least not as
"I can always do this in such way"

Then again, I'm not a native speaker..

 

[RonBee]

I did a Google search for some complete sentences containing the phrase in question. Please see the results below.

• "Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip." (Will Rogers)
  http://www.jokemonster.com/quotes/quotes/w/q106129.html
  
  "One must also act in such a way as to be seen to have done the right in the eyes of one's fellow man."
  http://www.chiefrabbi.org/thoughts/mattot.pdf -
  
  "Apply manure in such a way that it does not reach other property and public rights-of-way or potentially contaminate public drinking water supplies."
  http://www.lpes.org/Lessons/Lesson33/33_4_Site_Practices.pdf -
  
  "Shakespeare wrote 'Julius Caesar' in such a way that it is difficult to say whether Caesar had tyrannical instincts or not."
  http://www.coursework.info/i/34613.html -
  
  "Anything said in such a way, or put on the page in such a way, was to invite from the hearer or the reader a certain kind of attention."
  http://www.skidmore.edu/academics/english/courses/en213/quote9.htm -
  
  "These limbs have been pruned in such a way that they will have the
  tendency to grow away from the lines in the future."
  http://electric.cookeville-tn.org/forestry/directionalpruning.htm -
  
  "Live in such a way that those who know you but don't know God will come to know God because they know you."
  http://home.hiwaay.net/~hpbc/live_way.html -
  
  "Radioactive waste shall be managed in such a way as to secure an acceptable level of protection for human health."
  http://www.nea.fr/html/rwm/reports/1995/geodisp/annex1.html -
  
  "Acting consciously from very different motives (usually), people act out the reflexes of that situation in such a way as to avoid or prevent such an upset."
  http://www.winwenger.com/part42.htm -
  
  "The records are encrypted in such a way that it would require both trustees to decrypt them."
  http://www.cs.sandia.gov/HPCCIT/el_cash_p2.html -
  
  "We would need to set up a kind of global bridge from box to box with information cached, and in such a way to redirect when one box becomes overwhelmed."
  http://www.isp-planet.com/hosting/2001/news_bol.html -

 

[conjurer]

I also did some research before coming here

I came upon some interesting facts. For example, the phrase "in such a way" was used about 1.5 mil times, as opposed to about 30,000 times for "in such way". However, those 30,000 hits included a cite from the Bible, a statement of her majesty, and some other "trustful" sources of information

That's why, I didn't regard this research as good enough to prove my point... well.. My guess is that the English language changes (we all know that), and the phrase "in such way" gets more and more accepted, although it is not gramatically correct according to the currently set rules.. don't you think?

 

[RonBee]

I also did some research before coming here

I came upon some interesting facts. For example, the phrase "in such a way" was used about 1.5 mil times, as opposed to about 30,000 times for "in such way". However, those 30,000 hits included a cite from the Bible, a statement of her majesty, and some other "trustful" sources of information

That's why, I didn't regard this research as good enough to prove my point... well.. My guess is that the English language changes (we all know that), and the phrase "in such way" gets more and more accepted, although it is not gramatically correct according to the currently set rules.. don't you think?

Yes. It's complicated, isn't it? Certainly, in speech there is a tendency to elide certain syllables. For example, you probably won't hear the second e spoken in everyone and everything. I would keep the second a in in such a way if only because it is more euphonious that way. (It sounds better.) Of course, that is just my opinion, but that opinion seems to be shared by many. (I suspect that some people who do not pronounce the second a in in such a way do not consciously omit it, but they "swallow" the second a.)