What part of speech is SUCH? [Grammar]

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What part of speech is Such in Grammar

predeterminer

Determiner

  • Heโ€™s such a swindler. I canโ€™t believe I fell for his tricks.
  • I didnโ€™t know she came into such money.

What part of speech is such?

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

Hereโ€™s how such can be used in both cases.

Such as a Predeterminer

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

For example:

  • Heโ€™sย such a swindler. I canโ€™t believe I fell for his tricks.
  • Sheโ€™sย such a queen. You canโ€™t tell her anything.ย 
  • Heโ€™sย such a bore. I canโ€™t believe Max is dating him.
  • Iโ€™ve hadย such luckย lately with selling my parentโ€™s old house. I sold it for a great price.

Such as a Determiner

If such is used as aย determinerย it isย put in front of a noun in the plural form, or an uncountable nounย (like money).ย These nouns donโ€™t have articles, and such is used to determine their value.

For example:

  • I always have a bottle of wine hidden away forย such occasions.ย ( such โ€“ย exactly this type of thing occasion)
  • I didnโ€™t know she came intoย such money.ย (Come into means to receive. She got that money but didnโ€™t earn it through work.ย Got so much or such money are both good.ย However, got can mean to earn or have saved.ย Come intoย means specifically get something for free, like the lottery or an inheritance.)

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

SUCH

ADJECTIVE

ADVERB

PRONOUN

Such as an Adjective

Synonyms for SUCH as an adjective:

  • like
  • similar

One of theย most common, and popular ways, ofย using such is as an adjective. It is used as an adjective toย 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.

Letโ€™s go over them.

SUCH AS

First, letโ€™s describeย kind or character.ย This is connected to the phrase โ€œsuch as.โ€ย We use โ€œsuch asโ€ to describe something by connecting it to something else. That way youย describe the character or kindย of a certain thing.

For example:

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

SUCH THAT

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

Hereโ€™s a couple of examples:

  • The mealย was such thatย he had to give compliments to the chef.
  • The paintingย is such thatย she couldnโ€™t take her eyes off it.ย 

SUCH

Last isย class and extent.ย This one is the easiest becauseย you only have to use such. However, you have to putย nouns and adjectives around them to get the point across. While there isnโ€™t a phrase you have to use, be careful with the adjectives and nouns around such.

Examples:

  • There areย other such problemsย across the entire country.
  • Many such harsh trialsย were held in the past.
  • You willย never see such great disregardย for safety ever again.ย 

Such as an Adverb

Synonyms for SUCH as an adverb:

  • extremely
  • really
  • so
  • very

The next way to useย such is as an adverb.ย Adverbs describe the verbsย 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.ย To describe a degree, something done very well or bad, and done in a specific way.ย 

In order toย describe the degree of a verbย we use such like this:

  • Iโ€™ve never seen someoneย sing with such an amazing voice.ย 
  • Have youย heard there was such a big car crashย downtown?ย 

Hereโ€™s how toย describe something done very well, or very badly:

  • Theyย did such a good job renovatingย the kitchen.
  • Heย mishandled the project to such lengthsย that I donโ€™t know we can save it.ย 

IN SUCH A WAY

And finally to describe things done in a specific way you only need to use the phrase โ€œin such a way.โ€ Like this:

  • We have toย organize this party in such a wayย that she wonโ€™t find out.ย 
  • They willย have to negotiate in such a wayย that we donโ€™t lose the contract.ย 

You can see thatย using such as an adverb isnโ€™t connected to a lot of set phrases, but rather to everything that is around such. There arenโ€™t many grammatical rules on how to use such as an adverb, soย itโ€™s more about the context of the sentences.

Yourย point is the most important thing, so make sure that part is clear and youโ€™ll have no problems.

Such as a Pronoun

The final way toย use such is as a pronoun.ย Pronouns are used instead of nouns, and they are: he, she, it, they, us, etc. Now, you canโ€™t really substitute pronouns for such.

But what you can do isย 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 isย to exemplify someone or something.ย Letโ€™s go over them one by one.

โ€ฆAND SUCH

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

In this caseย such is put at the end of a sentence, the phrase used is โ€œand such.โ€ย Like this:

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

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

โ€œAnd such,โ€ or โ€œsuch thingsโ€ simply means that anything else that could come after is in the same category.

The second way of using such is toย exemplify, state or indicate something or someone. This means that youย want to draw attention to the person or thing.ย When itโ€™s exemplified itโ€™s almost like a conclusion to your sentence.

Examples:

  • We thought we had a great business model, but when the company failed we saw thatย such was not the case.ย 
  • Such is the natureย of people who donโ€™t know better.ย 

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

Suchโ€ฆ that

  • The trip wasย such a pain thatย we had to turn back and go home.ย 
  • I canโ€™t believeย her kid is such a bully thatย the other kids didnโ€™t want to come to the party.ย 

Such as to

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

Such is / was

  • You canโ€™t just tell your friends which stocks to invest in. Thatโ€™s insider trading, andย such is the law.ย 
  • My mother was a good person. She helped everyone in the community.ย They say such was her nature.ย 

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

So vs Such (Simple Infographic to Improve Your English)

Whatโ€™s the difference between SO/SUCH followed by THAT?

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