[Grammar] in the way how, the way how

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sitifan

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1. I tried to cook rice in the way how the ancient Chinese did.
2. I don't know the way how the ancient Chinese cooked.
(quoted from Unconventional English Teaching, by Mike Liu)

Are the above sentences acceptable to native speakers?
 
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1. I would delete "in".

2. I would delete "the way".
 
They're both wrong. If you haven't already thrown that book in the bin, do it now!

You have two options:
1. I tried to cook the rice how the ancient Chinese did.
I don't know how the ancient Chinese cooked rice.
2. I tried to cook the rice the way the ancient Chinese did.

Note, though, that "I don't know the way the ancient Chinese cooked rice" isn't natural.
 
jutfrank said:
It's incorrect to use (in) the way and how in combination like that.
Is Mike Liu really saying those sentences are okay?
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Yes. He says that on pages 43-45 of his book.
 
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Are you compelled by the school curriculum to use this book? If not, why are you giving it house room?
 
emsr2d2 said:
1. I tried to cook the rice how the ancient Chinese did.
2. I tried to cook the rice the way the ancient Chinese did.
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3. I tried to cook rice the way in which the ancient Chinese did.
4. I tried to cook rice the way that the ancient Chinese did.
Are #3 and #4 acceptable?
 
sitifan said:
3. I tried to cook rice the way in which the ancient Chinese did.
4. I tried to cook rice the way that the ancient Chinese did.
Are #3 and #4 acceptable?
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They're both grammatical. Neither in which nor that is necessary. Of the two, I'd accept #4 for publication if I were an editor. Number 3 is excessively heavy. I wouldn't accept it.
 
Rover_KE said:
Are you compelled by the school curriculum to use this book? If not, why are you giving it house room?
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I borrowed the book from the library near my house.
 
jutfrank said:
Could you post a screenshot of those pages? And the front cover.
I still don't believe he really says that. I want to know what exact teaching point he's getting at.
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cover.jpgpage 43.jpgpage 44.jpgpage 45.jpg
 
Even the title makes no sense! It's odd that, at the bottom of page 44, he gives the two correct ways of constructing it, but an incorrect one at the top of the page.
 
Those screenshots confirm to me what I suspected all along—the author is not saying that in the way how is correct. In fact, the whole point that he appears to be making is that it's wrong to say that. You can't use in the way and how together.
 
jutfrank said:
Those screenshots confirm to me what I suspected all along—the author is not saying that in the way how is correct. In fact, the whole point that he appears to be making is that it's wrong to say that. You can't use in the way and how together.
Click to expand...

A quick Google Lens/Google Translate look at the Chinese doesn't support that. The text seems to say, incorrectly, that the sentence without "how" is ungrammatical and the one with it is correct.
 
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