Collins Cobuild English Grammar (176 page)

such
as a predeterminer

10.30
   
Such
can be a
predeterminer
(see paragraph
1.251
) referring back to something that has already been mentioned. It comes in front of the determiner
a
or
an
.

They lasted for hundreds of years. On a human time scale,
such a period
seems an eternity.
On one occasion the school parliament discussed the dismissal of a teacher. But
such an event
is rare.

such
as an adjective

10.31
   
Such
can be an adjective referring back to something that has already been mentioned.

He can be very cruel. This was
one such occasion
.
‘Did you call me a liar?’ – ‘I never said
any such thing
!’
Mr Bell’s clubs were privately owned. Like
most such clubs
everywhere, they were organizations of people who shared a certain interest.
I hated the big formal dances and felt very out of place at the
one or two such events
I attended.

adjectives

10.32
   Some adjectives are used to indicate a comparison, contrast, or connection with something that has already been mentioned.

same

10.33
   The adjective
same
is used attributively to emphasize that you are referring back to something that has just been mentioned.

A man opened the door and said Next please. About ten minutes later, the
same
man returned.
He watched her climb into a compartment of the train, and he chose the
same
one so he could watch her more closely.

Note that when
same
is used before a noun or pronoun, it nearly always follows
the
, but it can occasionally follow other definite determiners.

These same
smells may produce depression in others.

10.34
   
Same
can also come after a linking verb when you want to show that something is similar in every way to something that has just been mentioned. When
same
is used after a linking verb it always follows
the
.

The Queen treated us very well. The Princess Royal was just
the same
.
My brothers and myself were very poor, but happy. I think other families were
the same
.

10.35
   You can also use
the same
without a following noun as the subject or object of a clause, to refer back to something that has just been mentioned.

The conversion process is very inefficient.
The same
is true of nuclear power stations.
‘I’ve never heard of him.’ – ‘I wish I could say
the same
.’

The same thing
can be used exactly like
the same
, as a subject or object.

He was stopped and sent back to get a ticket. On the return journey
the same thing
happened.
I learnt how to cheat and win every time. And I’m not proud of the fact that I taught a number of other people to do
the same thing
.

opposite
and
reverse

10.36
   The adjectives
opposite
and
reverse
are used to say that something is as different as possible from the thing that has already been mentioned. They usually follow
the
.

It was designed to impress, but it probably had
the opposite
effect.
In the past ten years I think we’ve seen
the reverse
process.

When
opposite
is used before a noun, it occasionally follows
an
.

Other studies draw
an opposite
conclusion.

You can sometimes use
the opposite
and
the reverse
without a following noun to refer back to something.

The police officer said that we would have to learn to live with crime. I think
the opposite
is true; we have to learn not to live with crime.
He is well known for saying one thing and doing
the opposite
.
Older males are often desirable to women but
the reverse
is not usually true.
It hasn’t happened.
The reverse
has happened.

other adjectives

10.37
   You can also use a variety of other adjectives to say that something is similar to, different from, or connected with something that has already been mentioned. Some of these adjectives are only used before a noun and others can also come after a linking verb.

She wore a red dress with a red
matching
hat.
West Germany, Denmark and Italy face declines in young people. We are confronted with a
contrasting
problem.
That’s what I would say. But his attitude was
different
altogether.

Here is a list of adjectives that can only be used in front of a noun to refer back:

adjacent

conflicting

contradictory

contrary

contrasting

corresponding

equal

equivalent

matching

opposing

parallel

Here is a list of adjectives that can be used both in front of a noun and after a linking verb to refer back:

analogous

comparable

compatible

different

identical

related

separate

similar

unrelated

adverbials

10.38
   To say that an action or a way of doing something is similar to the one just mentioned, you can use
in the same way
,
in a similar way
,
similarly
, or
likewise
.

She spoke of Jim with pride. And presumably she spoke to him of me
in the same way
.
Sam was engaged in conversation; Richard and Patrick were
similarly
occupied.

10.39
   To show that an action or a way of doing something is different from the one just described, you can use the adverbs
otherwise
and
differently
.

I thought life was simply splendid. I had no reason to think
otherwise
.
She was ashamed of her actions, but she had been totally incapable of doing
otherwise
.
My parents were very strict, but I’m going to do things
differently
with my kids.

Referring forward

10.40
   There are various ways of referring forward to things that are about to be mentioned. These ways often involve the nouns listed in paragraphs
10.18
to
10.23
, which are more commonly used when you are referring back to something.

this
and
these

10.41
   The use of
this
to refer back to something was explained in paragraphs
10.7
to
10.10
. You can also use
this
or
these
to refer forward to what you are about to say. They can be both pronouns and determiners. Note that
these
can only be a pronoun when it is the subject.

Well, you might not believe
this
but I don’t drink very much.
Perhaps I shouldn’t say
this
, but I did on one occasion break the law.
This
chapter will follow the same pattern as the previous one.
These
were the facts: on a warm February afternoon, Gregory Clark and a friend were cruising down Washington Boulevard in a Mustang.
On the blackboard
these
words were written: Reading. Writing. Arithmetic.

10.42
   When
this
and
these
are used as determiners to refer forward to something, they are most commonly used with nouns that refer to a piece of writing (see paragraph
10.23
). Sometimes they are used with nouns that refer to what is said (see paragraph
10.19
) and with nouns that refer to ideas (see paragraph
10.20
). They occasionally occur with nouns that refer to actions or events (see paragraph
10.21
).

following

10.43
   You can also refer to what you are about to mention using the adjective
following
before a noun. When
following
is used like this, it is used with nouns that refer to texts, ideas, and pieces of writing (see paragraphs
10.19
,
10.20
, and
10.23
.). Very occasionally, it is used with nouns that refer to actions and events (see paragraph
10.21
.).

After a while he received the
following
letter: Dear Sir, The Secretary of State regrets that he is unable to reconsider your case.
The
following
account is based on notes from that period.
They arrived at the
following
conclusion: children with disabilities are better off in normal classes.

You can also used
the following
without a noun phrase after it.

…a box containing
the following
: a packet of tissues, two handkerchiefs, and a clothes brush.

next

10.44
   The adjective
next
is often used to refer forward with nouns that refer to pieces of writing.

In the
next
chapter, we will examine this theory in detail.

below

10.45
   You can also use
below
to refer forward to something you are about to mention. You use
below
like this after nouns that refer to texts and pieces of writing (see paragraphs
10.19
and
10.23
).

For full details, see the report
below
.
The figures can be seen in the table
below
.

Below
can occasionally be used to refer forward with nouns that refer to actions and things. When it is used with them, it comes after a word like
given
,
shown
, or
set out
.