9.30 'such' as a predeterminer

'Such' can be a predeterminer (see paragraph 1.236) referring back to something that has already been mentioned. It comes in front of the determiner 'a' or 'an'.

• They lasted for hundreds of years. On a human time scale, such a period seems an eternity.
• On one occasion the school parliament discussed the dismissal of a teacher. But such an event is rare.