1

I wrote this sentence

Some of the rules could be common to many websites. Therefore, the rulesets are organized in a hierarchical fashion/structure (in which or so that ?) a ruleset can be derived from a more general ruleset.

As I used "can be" I suspect that I should use "so that"?!

2
  • 2
    Another option (which I think I would use) is in such a way that. The phrase can be shorten as such that but may be frowned upon by some readers. Aug 24, 2015 at 16:46
  • 1
    Methinks, the difference between "so that" and "such that" shows in what they address in the previous clause. "So that" would refer to "organized", and "such that" would refer to "fashion/structure". Aug 25, 2015 at 13:30

1 Answer 1

2

Write:

Therefore, the rulesets are organized in a hierarchical fashion/structure such that a ruleset can be derived from a more general ruleset.

Why:

I don't know. As a native English speaker, it's difficult to describe why. It just comes from experience. Like so many things in English, unfortunately, rules don't really apply as much as patterns of common usage.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .