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Is it grammatical to say "according to the law" instead of "according the law"?

If so, is there any difference in meaning?

Anixx
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    I believe you want to ask if it is "grammatically correct" to say... I don't think "is it grammatical to say" carries the right meaning. – Muhammad bin Yusrat Nov 16 '17 at 07:18
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    @MuhammadbinYusrat yes it does, actually. Something can be grammatical or not. It's an adjective, just like any other. – terdon Nov 16 '17 at 08:17
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    It would be better if you could show a complete example sentence - a few words out of context can be very ambiguous in English! – Toby Speight Nov 16 '17 at 14:05
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    To illustrate how important the example sentence is, suppose you had incorrectly extracted this phrase from its context as suggested in one of the answers below? You would then be told the wrong meaning of what you had read. In such cases not only do you need an example sentence, it must be the same sentence in which you encountered the sequence of words. – David K Nov 16 '17 at 14:09
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    The question definitely needs some context; that is, was there some particular text where "according the law" was used? – robin Nov 16 '17 at 20:24
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    Did you mean to say "according to law" instead of "according the law"? – kojow7 Nov 17 '17 at 04:17

5 Answers5

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In the usual context of these words, as others have pointed out, one invariably says 'according to the law'.

However, you can use 'according the law', just not in the context you're referring to. To illustrate:

In areas of open lawlessness, according the law the respect it deserves can be difficult, if not impossible to achieve.

This obviously uses 'according' as a verb, not a preposition as in the example sentences.

I mention this usage as I don't think "No, according the law is completely incorrect," or "Only “according to the law” is correct" are entirely correct.

Kevin notes: This usage is dated and seldom used anymore.

mcalex
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    This seems a stretch to me; yes, the words are in the order specified in the question, but "according the law" is not a phrase in this sentence, only "according X the respect it deserves", with X substituted for "the law". There are many coincidences of word order like this, and if this quote was in the question, the answer would still be that "according the law" is not a grammatical phrase, and the sentence has been parsed wrong if that "phrase" was picked out. – IMSoP Nov 16 '17 at 09:27
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    @IMSoP Possibly, but we have no context within which to make that kind of judgment. It's very possible that the OP saw the phrase 'according the law', and parsed it incorrectly, hence the confusion. – Strawberry Nov 16 '17 at 12:16
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    Should note too that, in this case (when it's being used as a verb), I would say that "according to the law" is also correct i.e. "according to the law the respect it deserves". That answers the original question. – owjburnham Nov 16 '17 at 15:16
  • Let's give the OP the benefit of the doubt. Most likely s/he heard or saw the words "according the law" as part of a phrase and also later saw or heard the phrase "according to the law" and wondered why the need for those pesky two letters in the latter case. I'm giving the OP the benefit of the doubt in guessing s/he didn't think "according the law" was a phrase at all but a not-entirely-uncommon sequence of words. – Ramy Nov 16 '17 at 16:38
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    @IMSoP For native or highly skilled speakers, the difference between the two cases is clear, but to those with less mastery, it can be a lot harder to distinguish between two cases that use the same words but with different meanings. I'd say the best answer in this case would mention both cases. – Cronax Nov 16 '17 at 16:54
  • Downvote because you are using the wrong word. You afford something the respect it deserves, not accord. – Kevin Nov 16 '17 at 20:45
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    @Kevin - You can also use accord as a transitive verb, meaning "give" or "grant," but it's very uncommon and will no doubt be far less common than usages of "according to (something)." – bubbleking Nov 16 '17 at 20:51
  • @bubbleking That usage is extremely dated – Kevin Nov 16 '17 at 20:57
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    @Kevin - That may be, but now that multiple users have mentioned it, I don't think it's appropriate to insist that mcalex is "using the wrong word" or to downvote for it. I hadn't heard the usage before finding this discussion, but I've been convinced that it does, in fact, have a legitimate, albeit rare, existence. If I had delivered a downvote for it, and then read the supporting evidence, I would be compelled to remove my downvote. – bubbleking Nov 16 '17 at 21:06
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    @bubbleking if the was the English Language exchange, I would agree with you. But since this is for Learners, I think suggesting something that would get them strange looks from most people is not a good idea. Especially without mentioning that it is a dated and very uncommon usage – Kevin Nov 17 '17 at 03:55
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    @Kevin It's not extremely dated, but it is obscure. But do you know where it is used? Ironically enough, it's a phrase you'd most likely come across in contracts and law! – corsiKa Nov 17 '17 at 15:52
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    Just to add to the confusion, you could use according to the law the respect it deserves to give the same meaning as according the law the respect it deserves. But you can't use according the law I have the right to unicorns to give the same meaning as according to the law I have the right to unicorns. – nekomatic Nov 17 '17 at 15:56
  • @nekomatic It helps to clear the confusion a little to note that your first phrase changes the indirect object of the participle according (in the second phrase) to an object of a preposition, following the method that indirect objects can be rephrased as a to / for prepositional phrase. In both cases, the word according could be replaced with the synonymous giving or granting. – Jed Schaaf Nov 19 '17 at 03:51
  • @Kevin Absolutely not. Accord and afford mean completely different things. This is not by any stretch of the imagination “using the wrong word”. Afford someone respect barely even makes sense—and it is also about ten times rarer than accord someone respect. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Nov 19 '17 at 12:53
  • @JanusBahsJacquet One of the definitions of afford is to give or confer upon. That specific usage (with respect) might be more common, but generally speaking [https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=accord+PRON+respect%2Cafford+PRON+respect%2Caccord+PRON++NOUN%2Cafford+PRON+NOUN&year_start=1900&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Caccord%20_PRON_%20respect%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cafford%20_PRON_%20respect%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Caccord%20_PRON_%20_NOUN_%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cafford%20_PRON_%20_NOUN_%3B%2Cc0](the opposite is true) – Kevin Nov 20 '17 at 00:47
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When an average person hears the words according and law, the first thing that probably comes to their mind is the expression according to the law. So, no, according the law is incorrect. You should always say according to the law. according to something is actually a set phrase in English and you just can't leave the to out from it. It's part of the expression and therefore it must be there. Nor can you say according of the law. Again, that's just incorrect grammar.

However, according the law would still be grammatically correct, but it would mean a completely different thing. In this case, according is the present participle of the verb to accord which means to give or grant something to someone. For example:

Accord the law the necessary status in society is a task of the highest priority if we are to build a fair and just legal system.

Michael Rybkin
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  • But it's "regarding the law", not "regarding to it" – Ooker Nov 16 '17 at 06:43
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    I'm totally with you on that. – Michael Rybkin Nov 16 '17 at 07:24
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    We don't always say "according to the law"; sometimes we say "according to law". – rjpond Nov 16 '17 at 08:05
  • I'm afraid this answer is incorrect. mcalex has given a fine example of the words "according the law" used properly. – Dawood ibn Kareem Nov 16 '17 at 08:40
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    I think I've heard "according to law" once or twice, but I don't think this is a common phrasing. It might be British though. – Michael Rybkin Nov 16 '17 at 08:48
  • Actually, the ngrams say that "according to law" is more common in US English than UK English. But either way, the question was about "according the law", which is far less common than either "according to law" or "according to the law". Of course, all three are perfectly grammatical (and yes, I am a native speaker of English). – Dawood ibn Kareem Nov 16 '17 at 08:52
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    On the very reasonable assumption that the questioner thinks "according the law" means the same as 'according to the law" (which it doesn't) this is a good answer. – DJClayworth Nov 16 '17 at 15:06
  • Well, if there is not enough context, you have to make assumptions. As you aptly pointed out, it's very reasonable to assume that the OP thinks that "according to the law" might possibly be made shorter by tossing out the "to". – Michael Rybkin Nov 16 '17 at 15:10
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    @DawoodibnKareem A possible reason "according to law" would rank higher could be that it lends itself to more phrases, such as "according to law professionals," "according to law books," "according to law theory." Furthermore, I would consider both of those to be valid usages, but with slight differences that render them subtly more or less appropriate, based on the context. The question here is more about "according to (noun with or without article)" versus "according (noun with or without article)." Obviously, the latter is incorrect in all scenarios. – bubbleking Nov 16 '17 at 20:34
  • "according the law is completely incorrect": no, it is not. See mcalex's answer. – phoog Nov 18 '17 at 11:14
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    "According the law" would be correct in some constructions, e.g. "While I favor according the law a great deal of deference, this decision is unjust." That's unlikely to be what the asker was looking for, but there also isn't any context. – fectin Nov 18 '17 at 18:18
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"According to" is a set phrase in English to indicate where something is specified. You can't just drop the "to" and expect it to have the same meaning.

The verb to accord has a number of meanings; the only sense in which it could abut a noun phrase like that is as a transitive verb; example: "I was according the law the respect it deserves". That's unlikely to be the sense intended here.

Toby Speight
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“According the law” is ungrammatical. Only “according to the law” is correct.

mamster
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  • Do some say "according of the law"? – Anixx Nov 16 '17 at 04:10
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    Nope! You can say “in accordance with the law”, however. – mamster Nov 16 '17 at 05:10
  • Well, all you said seems to be totally the same as in Russian so far, except some uneducated people in Russia may say "according of the law" (this is still ungrammatical). – Anixx Nov 16 '17 at 05:16
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    Well, you have to understand that Russian and English are two quite different languages. So, I wouldn't draw parallels between them. – Michael Rybkin Nov 16 '17 at 05:20
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    We can also say "according to law". So it's not quite right to say that "only 'according to the law' is correct" - though I suppose you mean "out of these two options". – rjpond Nov 16 '17 at 08:03
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    I'm afraid this is incorrect, as mcalex's answer has demonstrated. – Dawood ibn Kareem Nov 16 '17 at 08:40
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"According to" is certainly far more common in current usage. I cannot imagine dropping the "to" except perhaps in some unusual, perhaps archaic, construction.

OED lists according as an adverb and notes that it's "usually" according to. They also list a second sense as according as.

M-W and Macmillan list according to as a preposition.

Adrian McCarthy
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  • It's quite common in Indian English, along with "refer the documentation" and "due unforeseen circumstances". – Lightness Races in Orbit Nov 19 '17 at 04:03
  • @Lightness Such variations are bound to arise in pidgin-like variants. I had a philology teacher once who was forever admonishing us not to trust critical editions of manuscripts themselves, but to “always take a look the original”. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Nov 19 '17 at 12:56