USES OF AS IN ENGLISH

© 2002 by Orchid Land Publications

C.-J. N. Bailey

[20020610]

     As has got the following uses; note that like or the way  DOES NOT REPLACE ANY USE OF as OTHER THAN MANNER-as. 

1. Non-restrictive comparative conjunction, the second as in "They’re as good as us," "They did it as well as we did," "It's just as well." The first as in the first two examples is adverbial.

2. Non-restrictive linking or dummy conjunction or preposition as and rôle-as: "We regarded it as a nuisance" and "As a mere mortal, I cannot be expected to know everything!" Closely related is rôle-as, having the sense of "in the rôle of." The linking preposition as in "She acted as the chairperson" and "She acted as a mother to them" needs to be distinguished from prepositional like in "She acted like the chairperson" and "She acted like a mother to them." Both words are in common use as prepositions but they do not mean the same thing: rôle-as indicates IDENTITY; like indicates RESEMBLANCE. See below on the confusion of the two uses--more often by the educated than the uneducated. This linking indicated by the true dummy-as is often equivalent to = (the "equals" sign) and is often omissible. We say "I regarded/treated them as friends" (older speakers omit as in "I considered them [to be] friends"; note how to be can serve as the link) but omit as in "They called Joe a liar" and "She named them members of her committee." Name and label traditionally lacks as, but now often have it; call is always used without as. Passive be named may be treated differently from active name by some speakers. As is generally omitted after causatives (but other modes of expressing causation are found in "I made an enemy of him" and "I made him into an enemy").  

     "We did/acted as ordered" is usual; before the participle, as is preferred to the way and like. Some archaizing idiomatic uses prevail; e.g. as it should (have). Note in "We did as they wished"--where as is almost equivalent to what--as cannot be replaced by the way (or, in educated usage, by like) UNLESS it precedes as.   

     Restrictive manner conjunction as, as in "It’s as if [or:  "as though"] they were here," "He thought the term was being used as [it is used] in logic," "We did it as you wished." Using like for as if is frowned on by better speakers, except in a few sarcastic idioms such as "like he knows all how to do it" and "like you could win." In the latter two of the foregoing examples (i.e. where as is not followed by if), the way sounds more fluent than does as; like is more colloquial in these examples but not rare in educated usage. Before a clause, we generally prefer the way or like to manner-as; e.g. "Let it stay like [or "the way"] it is"); the formal "Let it stay as it is" is becoming marginal in educated (and of course uneducated) usage.   When comparative as or than is followed by a noun, it is treated in English as a preposition; e.g. "They’re as smart as me" and "They're smarter than me." (Older grammarians, accepting the myth that English is "Germanic" and has a Germanic case system rather than a Romance positional differentiation of weak and strong forms of personal pronouns, based their contrary rules on Germanic usages. But English, like French comme moi and que moi uses the "strong form" of the pronoun in the environment under scrutiny.) Before a prepositional phrase of a clause, like is probably the most-often heard educated usage; thus, "They wanted to have it like in educated sage" and "It's like it says in that book" are quite acceptable, though the way would be preferred in less informal situations, whereas as is increasingly infrequent ; "Like the man says" is a general idiom.  

     Non-restrictive temporal conjunction as, as in "They saw him (just) as he arrived." This as is similar to when or at the time that.

     Non-restrictive manner- as is the use that gives the most trouble and the most grist for the mills of grammarians. This as (it comes close to being a linking-as) is interpolated as a parenthetical clause; e.g. "as you know," "as it was," "as in that verse," "as had been done," "as that example shows" and of course "as if he cared" (contrast restrictive "He worked on it as if he cared"--where as if could be replaced by concessive as though). When the as under scrutiny is followed by a clause (e.g. "as you know" or "as that example shows") it can mean "in accordance with what (or /where/when/why/how)"; when used prepositionally, as in means "in accordance with" or "like in the example (of)" (cf. "as in that verse").  Note that using like in non-restrictive clauses is frequently avoided in fixed parenthetical locutions like those just illustrated; some educated speakers would avoid "It'll be ready, like we said, in an hour" and "That operation, like it's usually performed, gemerally works wonders" and "In wills, it is important, as with (as in the case of) all judicial matters, to use the very unambiguous expressions." Note that as in as in, and as in the case of often occur sentence-initially (followed by a comma). Educated speakers would tilt towards as and against like in: "That, as (like) Sue is fond of pointing out, will do just as well." In contrast with non-restrictive as, restrictive like in "Do like your mother says" is as acceptable as the archaïzing as in "Do as your mother says."

     Restrictive concessive, as in "Clever as he is, he’s doubly dangerous." This as modifies a non-restrictive modifier--clever; and the words preceding the comma modify the she following the comma. This as should not be confused with comparative as in "It’s (as) clever as can be." Non-restrictive causal as, as in "He left, as the job had been completed." This as--equivalent to since, in view of the fact that, etc.--is of course not replaceable by the way or like the way in which manner-as can be. This use of as is often equivalent to inasmuch as.

     Compound prepositions containing as like as for, as in, as touching, …… usually pose no problems; older like as is no longer current. Compound conjunctions containing as like as though, as if, ……….. are usually just as unproblematic for those who properly use clauses following though and if, while whereas, inasmuch as, just as, and similar compounds are quite unproblematic.

     But people trained in older grammar often have a hard time with as, rigidly following ignorantly formulated rules that they have been taught. A prominent and very learnëd professor at a first-rate university in England and author of a book by Oxford University Press confuses rôle-as with like; examples are:  

--"in some large cities, as [name]"; this would be grammatical if such had been place before as or if like had replaced as--in either alternative, whether restrictive without a comma or non-restrictive as here with a comma.

--"cruel outbursts, as that promoted by [name]"; like is correct here, whether the prepositional phrase is restrictive or not, but an alternative possible is to place such before as.

--"prominent laity, as the sister of [name]"; same as the preceding.

--"later emporers, as [name], issued edicts . . ."; same as the preceding.

     As has got the following uses: