such

such
such
1. such as an emphasizer.

• How can the House express its indignant rejection of football hooliganism while setting such a persuasive example of undignified and daily indiscipline? —Guardian Weekly, 1986.

The construction with such a followed by an adjective is established and idiomatic in current English, despite occasional objections that so and not such should do the work of emphasizing here (…while setting so persuasive an example). Compare the use of such qualifying a noun, to which nobody objects:

• I can't believe I have made such an idiot of myself —weblog, BrE 2004.

In some cases such appears to qualify the combination of adjective and noun:

• He warns that now is not such a good time to be getting rid of pubs —Sunday Herald, 2001.

2. such as with following pronoun.
When an inflecting pronoun follows, it is more natural to regard such as as a preposition and to follow it with me, her, him, etc., rather than I, she, he, etc. (regarding such as as a conjunction with the continuation understood as such as I am, etc.)

• They were not bad, for such as her —Rose Macaulay, 1920.

3. such as or like.
Like is common when a single instance follows (a poet like Tennyson / take a girl like you), but such as is preferable (and more idiomatic) when a list follows (Members of the cat family, such as the lion, the tiger, and the leopard). See like 2.
4. such…as…or such…that….
We are such stuff as dreams are made on. The relative pronoun that follows such in sentences of this type is as and not who, which, or that. But such followed by that is legitimate in constructions of the following types, in which that is a conjunction:

• Midge was such a dingbat…that she went to Hawaii for a vacation during World War II —J. Irving, 1978

• The scale of the influx of cheap drugs on to the market was such that a line of cocaine now costs less than a cappuccino —Scotland on Sunday, 2005.


Modern English usage. 2014.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • such — [ sʌtʃ ] function word *** Such can be used in the following ways: as a predeterminer (followed by a or an and a singular noun): She s such an intelligent woman. It was such a shame that you couldn t be with us. as a determiner (followed by a… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Such — Such, a. [OE. such, sich, sech, sik, swich, swilch, swulch, swilc, swulc, AS. swelc, swilc, swylc; akin to OFries. selik, D. zulk, OS. sulic, OHG. sulih, solih, G. solch, Icel. sl[=i]kr, OSw. salik, Sw. slik, Dan. slig, Goth. swaleiks; originally …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • such — W1S1 [sʌtʃ] determiner, predeterminer, pron [: Old English; Origin: swilc] 1.) of the same kind as the thing or person which has already been mentioned ▪ Such behavior is just not acceptable in this school. ▪ The rules make it quite clear what… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • such — /such/, adj. 1. of the kind, character, degree, extent, etc., of that or those indicated or implied: Such a man is dangerous. 2. of that particular kind or character: The food, such as it was, was plentiful. 3. like or similar: tea, coffee, and… …   Universalium

  • such — [such] adj. [ME suche < OE swilc, swelc, akin to Ger solch, Goth swaleiks < PGmc * swalika : for components see SO1 & LIKE1] 1. a) of the kind mentioned or implied [a man such as his father] b) of the same or a sim …   English World dictionary

  • such as — For example • • • Main Entry: ↑such * * * such as phrase used for introducing more examples of the type of person or thing that you have just mentioned The museum has paintings by such Impressionist artists as Manet and Degas. The money is used… …   Useful english dictionary

  • such — ► DETERMINER , PREDETERMINER , & PRONOUN 1) of the type previously mentioned. 2) (such as/that) of the type about to be mentioned. 3) to so high a degree; so great. ● as such Cf. ↑as such ● …   English terms dictionary

  • such as it is — Being what it is (and no better) • • • Main Entry: ↑such * * * such as it is mainly spoken phrase used for showing that you do not have a good opinion of the thing that you have mentioned The countries are still allies, but the special… …   Useful english dictionary

  • such as it is — Just as it appears or is presented, not being any better or worse than most others of its kind; being average or mediocre. * /This pie, such as it is, is the best I can make./ * /Jane told her grandmother her grades, such as they were./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • such as it is — Just as it appears or is presented, not being any better or worse than most others of its kind; being average or mediocre. * /This pie, such as it is, is the best I can make./ * /Jane told her grandmother her grades, such as they were./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

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