What part of speech is Such in Grammar

What part of speech is such?

Such is very simple, but also complex, part of speech. By grammar definition, what you would find in grammar books, such can be a predeterminer or a determiner.

Here’s how such can be used in both cases.

Such as a Predeterminer

Such as a predeterminer comes before a / an (indefinite article) and a noun in the singular form. As the name says, it predetermines the noun.

For example:

• He’s such a swindler. I can’t believe I fell for his tricks.
• She’s such a queen. You can’t tell her anything. 
• He’s such a bore. I can’t believe Max is dating him.
• I’ve had such luck lately with selling my parent’s old house. I sold it for a great price.

Such as a Determiner

If such is used as a determiner it is put in front of a noun in the plural form, or an uncountable noun (like money). These nouns don’t have articles, and such is used to determine their value.

For example:

• I always have a bottle of wine hidden away for such occasions. ( such – exactly this type of thing occasion)
• I didn’t know she came into such money. (Come into means to receive. She got that money but didn’t earn it through work. Got so much or such money are both good. However, got can mean to earn or have saved. Come into means specifically get something for free, like the lottery or an inheritance.)

Now, this is the grammatical definition for such. Predeterminer and determined explain what part of speech such is. However, there are other ways in which such can be used. This is why such is both simple, and complex.

Such as an Adjective

Synonyms for SUCH as an adjective:

• like
• similar

One of the most common, and popular ways, of using such is as an adjective. It is used as an adjective to describe the kind of thing, degree, extent, quality, class, or character. Now that may seem like a lot, but the good thing is that each way of using such as an adjective is connected to a phrase.

Let’s go over them.

SUCH AS

First, let’s describe kind or character. This is connected to the phrase “such as.” We use “such as” to describe something by connecting it to something else. That way you describe the character or kind of a certain thing.

For example:

• I always wanted one of those bags. Such as the doctors used to carry.
• Do you have any couches such as this one? 

SUCH THAT

Moving on to quality and degree. When describing this we use a combination of the verb be (in any tense necessary), such and that. You can remember it easily like this “be such that,” but remember to put BE in the correct tense.

Here’s a couple of examples:

• The meal was such that he had to give compliments to the chef.
• The painting is such that she couldn’t take her eyes off it. 

SUCH

Last is class and extent. This one is the easiest because you only have to use such. However, you have to put nouns and adjectives around them to get the point across. While there isn’t a phrase you have to use, be careful with the adjectives and nouns around such.

Examples:

• There are other such problems across the entire country.
• Many such harsh trials were held in the past.
• You will never see such great disregard for safety ever again. 

Such as an Adverb

Synonyms for SUCH as an adverb:

• extremely
• really
• so
• very

The next way to use such is as an adverb. Adverbs describe the verbs and the ways in which the verbs happen. So, such is perfect for that position.

SUCH A / AN

It can be used as an adverb in three ways. To describe a degree, something done very well or bad, and done in a specific way. 

In order to describe the degree of a verb we use such like this:

• I’ve never seen someone sing with such an amazing voice. 
• Have you heard there was such a big car crash downtown? 

Here’s how to describe something done very well, or very badly:

• They did such a good job renovating the kitchen.
• He mishandled the project to such lengths that I don’t know we can save it. 

IN SUCH A WAY

And finally to describe things done in a specific way you only need to use the phrase “in such a way.” Like this:

• We have to organize this party in such a way that she won’t find out. 
• They will have to negotiate in such a way that we don’t lose the contract. 

You can see that using such as an adverb isn’t connected to a lot of set phrases, but rather to everything that is around such. There aren’t many grammatical rules on how to use such as an adverb, so it’s more about the context of the sentences.

Your point is the most important thing, so make sure that part is clear and you’ll have no problems.

Such as a Pronoun

The final way to use such is as a pronoun. Pronouns are used instead of nouns, and they are: he, she, it, they, us, etc. Now, you can’t really substitute pronouns for such.

But what you can do is use such to describe a person or thing in a category, and to describe similarities between things or people.

Another way to use such as a pronoun is to exemplify someone or something. Let’s go over them one by one.

…AND SUCH

First, describing a person or thing in a category. This also means that you are describing things or people that are similar to one another.

In this case such is put at the end of a sentence, the phrase used is “and such.” Like this:

• We’re going to need cement, steel bars, equipment, and such other things. 
• I used to tell my son stories about kings, queens, knights, and such. 
• Please buy party supplies. Hats, paper plates, glasses, such things. 

In these examples there is a category, in the first it’s construction things, second is royalty, and finally things similar to one another (party supplies).

“And such,” or “such things” simply means that anything else that could come after is in the same category.

The second way of using such is to exemplify, state or indicate something or someone. This means that you want to draw attention to the person or thing. When it’s exemplified it’s almost like a conclusion to your sentence.

Examples:

• We thought we had a great business model, but when the company failed we saw that such was not the case. 
• Such is the nature of people who don’t know better. 

These are the grammatical uses for such. However, there are phrases with such that are used in many other ways and have no clear grammatical definition. They are extremely useful so let’s go over a couple, and show you some examples.

Such… that

• The trip was such a pain that we had to turn back and go home. 
• I can’t believe her kid is such a bully that the other kids didn’t want to come to the party. 

Such as to

• We wanted to settle things peacefully, such as to stop any further conflict. 
• My grandmother believes in all these superstitions, so she has a lot a trinket such as to ward off evil. 

Such is / was

• You can’t just tell your friends which stocks to invest in. That’s insider trading, and such is the law. 
• My mother was a good person. She helped everyone in the community. They say such was her nature. 

These phrases are connected to context, more than grammar. So you can use them when you need to drive a point across.

So vs Such (Simple Infographic to Improve Your English)

What’s the difference between SO/SUCH followed by THAT?