1.People resented the underhanded way that he came to power.
People resented the underhanded way in that he came to power.
People resented the underhanded way in which he came to power.
People resented the underhanded way which he came to power.
Which is right? The dictionary uses the first sentence, but I feel a little odd. I tried to rephrase the last part of the sentence into normal sequence:
He came to power in the underhanded way.
So the preposition "in" is fundamental to the sentence, but why does the first sentence omit it? In which circumstances can I omit the preposition? Can I omit it when using "which"?
Best Answer
The in which example is the most grammatical of the ones you've chosen, but in my opinion,
would be the most natural phrasing.
As for the other four examples:
is wrong.
The expression in that cannot be used in this fashion; in that, rather, is used to specify a reason, e.g. People resented his underhanded rise to power in that he made many empty promises.
Although it reads fine - and this may just be the American English in me speaking - I tend to think of in which as a connector introducing an optional clause that adds details about something, not something critical to understanding the sentence, e.g. That town square, the one in which he began his underhanded rise to power, is constantly vandalized.
is wrong.