That is how/the way it happened.

[sitifan]

1. That is how it happened.
2. That is the way it happened.
3. I told him how I read it in the papers.
4. I told him the way I read it in the papers.
Source: Ting-chi Tang, A Guide to Teaching Junior High School English, pp555-556.

According to the author, #1 and #2 have the same meaning; but #3 and #4 don't.
What's the difference in meaning between #3 and #4?

 

[William McNeice]

Yes, numbers 1 and 2 are the same.
Number 3 is a complicated way of saying that I believe it is true because I read it in the papers.
Number 4 means that I am quoting from the papers (in other words, this is how the paper reported it, not me).

 

[Tarheel]

I have to agree with what is said in post #2, because that's the only thing that makes sense. However, I can't be certain that's what the writer of those sentences meant. That's because a native speaker would usually be more straightforward. For example, "That's what I read in the paper" would be a natural way of saying that (#3). @William McNeice did a good job of figuring them out.