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This is the way how he did it.Anything wrong above?

MrPedantic · Accepted Answer

I would say:

'This is how he did it.'

MrP

Hbae787 · Answer

Or a little more emphasized on HOW he did it :

"This is the way he did it"

CalifJim · Answer

You've chosen the one exception in that series of combinations!

You can say: "person who", "thing which", "time when", "place where", and "reason why", but not "way how"! Strange, isn't it?

CJ

Meantolearn · Answer

Thanks all for your contributions.

Languages are tools to communite among human beings. There are no absolute 'standard rules' to justify whether what we are trying to convey is right or wrong.

Languages are also very complicated. For the purpose of communications, as time passes, I would be happy to see an evolution of a simplified version of a language such as English.

'Way + how' is a redundant usage, so the suggestion is either dropping 'how' or 'way' such as 'this is how he did it' or 'this is the way he did it.'

In fact, 'time when', 'place where' and 'reason why' are all considered 'redundant', aren't they?

'Where' is an adnominal relative adverb. When you use the word 'where', people would know what it refers to, of course, a place.

'When' is an adnominal relative adverb. When you use the word 'when', people would know what it refers to, of course, the time.

'Why' is an adnominal relative adverb. When you use the word 'why', people would know what it refers to, of course, a reason.

This is the place where he lives. = This is where he lives.
To me, the use of 'place' and 'where' is redundant. I don't know why 'this is the place where he lives' is widely acceptable in English?

This is the reason why he did it. = This is why he did it.
To me, the use of 'reason' and 'why' is redundant. I don't know why 'this is the reason why he did it' is widely acceptable in English?

This is the time when he did it. = This is when he did it.
To me, the use of 'time' and 'when' is redundant. I don't know why 'this is the time when he did it' is widely acceptable in English?

Back to my original question: *This is the way how he did it.
Why isn't it accepted by native English speakers? Strange!

CalifJim · Answer

Actually, I find "reason why" a bit borderline, now that I think about it a little more. There may be people who would not accept that one either.

CJ

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