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Here's a example and I'd like to know the difference between 'in the same way' and 'the same way'.

I'm wondeting if the 'when' clause can be used as the object of 'be afraid' the same way as 'that' clause can.

Here, which one is proper between 'In the same way' and 'the same way'?

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    "the same way" is a colloquial form of "in the same way". The latter is the better choice when writing, except for emails to friends, for example, where casual speech is OK.
    – TimR
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 10:58
  • @TRomano I don't think we can classify it that way. That's just my thought. But if we look at grammar we tend to use the same way more than the other alternatives. Though StoneyB mentioned how writers consider adverb phrase. It depends on writers.
    – Man_From_India
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 6:51
  • @Man_From_India: What do you mean by "if we look at grammar"?
    – TimR
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 12:11
  • @TRomano please ignore that. Even after writing an answer I deleted it. It was not a correct answer. And I commented based on that answer. So please ignore it :-)
    – Man_From_India
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 12:16
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    This ngram might be useful. It goes against written texts only, but if you look at the register of those texts (e.g. are they anecdotal and talky? do they use "your" instead of "one", and so forth) it becomes clear that the more informal the language, the more likely the author is to use "...the same way" versus "in the same way". books.google.com/ngrams/…
    – TimR
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 12:48

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The Free Dictionary says that you can omit "in" before this way, that way, my (possessive pronoun) way, and the same way, So you can say either in the same way or the same way, without any difference in meaning.

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I'm wondering if the 'when' clause can be used as the object of 'be afraid' the same way as 'that' clause can.

"in the same way" works better here.

The more complex the sentence, the more likely we are to be more comfortable with "in the same way."

Also, I agree with @TRomano, that "the same way" is less formal than "in the same way."

Example of "the same way": Mama, can you cook it the same way you did last time?

At the beginning of a sentence, it is better to use "in the same way."

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