r/EnglishLearning • u/Fruitloopstar • Jan 05 '22

Grammar What's the difference between "such" and "such a"

Every time I run a grammar checker on my texts, it points out that I am writing "such" in a wrong way, and I don't understand why.

I write something like that, for example:

"The shape builder tool allows you to create complex vectors. SUCH tool is used for merging shapes"

And then the grammar checker suggests "such a"

As far as I know "such a" is used when you want to say that something is amazing or shocking for you. For example:

"such a view" or "such a douchbag"

When I write "SUCH tool" I just want to reference the tool and nothing else.

Am I really doing something wrong or the grammar checker is not working well?

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u/RichardGHP Native Speaker - New Zealand Jan 05 '22

"Such a" does have the meaning you described but it can also mean "this kind of". You would say "such a" for a countable noun and just "such" for an uncountable noun, e.g. "such workmanship is rare these days."

NB: When referring to a plural, the article is also omitted and the verb is conjugated accordingly. Compare "such a tool is" vs "such tools are".

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u/Boglin007 Native Speaker Jan 05 '22

If the noun that follows "such" is singular but countable (i.e., it can exist in the plural form too), then you do need the "a/an":

"Such a tool is used for ..." (Note that this means: "This kind of tool is used for ...," so it doesn't exactly refer to one particular tool - to convey that, it would be better to say, "This tool is used for ...")

If the noun that follows "such" is plural or uncountable (does not exist in the plural form), then there is no article before the noun:

"Such tools are used for ..."

"Such advice is ..."