The main uses of as: How and When to Use in English
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The main uses of as
Main uses of as:
• Comparative which denotes equality:
• Comparative which denotes equality:
He is as old as I am. We are the same age.
She's wearing the same shirt as I am. We're both wearing the same shirt.
I drink as much as he does. We both drink the same amount.
Your car is twice as large as mine.
• Introducing a clause:
as you know like you (already) know
as I told you like I (already) told you
As we were late, we hired a cab. Because we were late, we took a taxi.
• At the moment, at the time when, while:
As a soldier, my uncle used to travel a lot. When he was a soldier, my uncle traveled a lot.
As a child, I often played ball with my dog. When I was a child, I often played ball with my dog.
As I grow older, I'm becoming more interested in politics. Getting older, I'm becoming more interested in politics.
• In the form of, in the role of, in the function of, acting as:
As a paying customer, I demand better service. I am a paying customer, therefore I want better service.
• Some commonly used expressions:
as well also, too
as far as I am concerned if you ask me, for all I know, in my opinion
as yet so far, up to this point in time
such as for example, like
Exercise 1
Use the words from this list to fill in the blanks in the text. Be careful! Some words may be used more than once.
all | about | to | finally | first | before | as | with | on | in
'Hey, Philip, come here. I want to tell you a story my trip China,' said Kevin. 'Hold a minute, let me finish my lunch ,' answered Philip. Several minutes passed Philip entered Kevin's office. 'Ok, tell me your story,' said Philip. ' you may know, I went China last week. I had a meeting Mrs. Mei-Tsing Lee to discuss our new production plan. And, the day I went to her office, I accidentally got the wrong bus. And, the next thing I knew, I was North Korea.' 'Is that ?' 'Well, yes.'
all | about | to | finally | first | before | as | with | on | in
'Hey, Philip, come here. I want to tell you a story my trip China,' said Kevin. 'Hold a minute, let me finish my lunch ,' answered Philip. Several minutes passed Philip entered Kevin's office. 'Ok, tell me your story,' said Philip. ' you may know, I went China last week. I had a meeting Mrs. Mei-Tsing Lee to discuss our new production plan. And, the day I went to her office, I accidentally got the wrong bus. And, the next thing I knew, I was North Korea.' 'Is that ?' 'Well, yes.'
Use the words from this list to fill in the blanks in the text. Be careful! Some words may be used more than once.
all | about | to | finally | first | before | as | with | on | in
'Hey, Philip, come here. I want to tell you a story about 1 my trip to 2 China,' said Kevin. 'Hold on 3 a minute, let me finish my lunch first 4,' answered Philip. Several minutes passed before 5 Philip finally 6 entered Kevin's office. 'Ok, tell me your story,' said Philip. 'as 7 you may know, I went to 8 China last week. I had a meeting with 9 Mrs. Mei-Tsing Lee to discuss our new production plan. And, on 10 the day I went to her office, I accidentally got on 11 the wrong bus. And, the next thing I knew, I was in 12 North Korea.' 'Is that all 13?' 'Well, yes.'
all | about | to | finally | first | before | as | with | on | in
'Hey, Philip, come here. I want to tell you a story about 1 my trip to 2 China,' said Kevin. 'Hold on 3 a minute, let me finish my lunch first 4,' answered Philip. Several minutes passed before 5 Philip finally 6 entered Kevin's office. 'Ok, tell me your story,' said Philip. 'as 7 you may know, I went to 8 China last week. I had a meeting with 9 Mrs. Mei-Tsing Lee to discuss our new production plan. And, on 10 the day I went to her office, I accidentally got on 11 the wrong bus. And, the next thing I knew, I was in 12 North Korea.' 'Is that all 13?' 'Well, yes.'
1 about: We can talk about something, but we talk to someone. 'About' is the best choice here. Example: I want to talk to you about my mother.
2 to: Kevin is telling Philip about his trip to China. 'To' is the best choice because a 'trip' carries the idea of movement. When we speak about movement, we always talk about someone or something going from one place to another. In this case 'to' indicates the destination of Kevin's trip.
3 on: 'On' is the best choice here. "Hold on" is a common expression which means 'please wait' or 'wait a minute'. It is often used when speaking on the phone. Example: Please hold on while I grab a pencil.
4 first: 'First' is the correct choice. Philip says 'let me finish my lunch first', meaning that he wants to finish his lunch 'before' Kevin tells him the story of his trip to Asia.
5 before: 'Before' is the correct answer. It tells us that time has passed before Philip enters Kevin's office. Example: We were talking about you before you arrived.
6 finally: 'Finally' means 'at last' or 'lastly'. It is the best choice here. Example: I've finally finished reading War and Peace.
7 as: 'As you may know' is an expression which introduces a fact or statement which is presumably known by one person or a group of people. Example: As you will know, your mother and I have decided to adopt a guinea pig.
8 to: Kevin is telling Philip that he went 'to' China. 'To' is the best choice because the verb 'to go' carries the idea of movement, and the preposition 'to' indicates the object or destination of this movement. Example: I'm going to London next week.
9 with: 'With' groups together objects, people and ideas. It is the best choice here to tell us 'whom' Kevin met (Mei-Tsing Lee). Example: I had a date with a guy I met online.
10 on: "On the day" is the correct choice. We use this type of expression to give specific information about a date. Example: On August first, on Monday morning, etc.
11 on: 'To get on the bus' is to board a bus. When using prepositions with modes of transportation, we often run into problems. Usually, when we are speaking about public transportation (bus, metro, airplane, etc.) we use the preposition on. But if we are talking about a car, we use in (get in the car).
12 in: Kevin tells Philip that he was in North Korea, which means that he was inside the country or within the country's borders. Example: I was in Puerto Rico when the hurricane hit.
13 all: 'Is that all?' is a question which asks if someone is finished (speaking, shopping, etc.). Example: Is that all the cake you have left?
Exercise 2
Reporter: Mr. Delavigne, could you tell me what it was growing up with Anosmia?
Bruno: Well, I wrote in my autobiography, it was quite difficult. Losing my sense of smell was losing a close friend.
Bruno: Well, I wrote in my autobiography, it was quite difficult. Losing my sense of smell was losing a close friend.
Reporter: Mr. Delavigne, could you tell me what it was like 1 growing up with Anosmia?
Bruno: Well, as 2 I wrote in my autobiography, it was quite difficult. Losing my sense of smell was like 3 losing a close friend.
Bruno: Well, as 2 I wrote in my autobiography, it was quite difficult. Losing my sense of smell was like 3 losing a close friend.
1 like: 'Like' is the best choice here because it correctly completes the interrogative construction 'what was it like? Here 'like' is used to ask Bruno to describe his childhood growing up with Anosmia. 'What was it like?' is a very common question to ask someone to describe a past experience.
1 as: 'As' cannot be used in this construction. When 'as' is used to introduce comparisons, it is generally followed by 'if' or it is used twice in the same clause (Example: It was as funny as anything I have ever heard).
1 lick: 'To lick' doesn't make sense here. 'Licking' describes the act of using the tongue to taste someone or something.
2 as: 'As' is the best choice here, it correctly introduces the clause, and tells us that what Bruno is saying to the journalist is very similar to what he wrote in his autobiography. A common expression in English is 'as I wrote'.
2 similar: We cannot use 'similar' in this sentence because it is grammatically incorrect. However, we could say 'It's similar to what I wrote in my autobiography.
3 like: 'Like' correctly establishes the comparison between having Anosmia and losing a friend. It is the best choice here to compare these two ideas.
3 as: 'As' cannot be used in this type of construction. We must use the preposition 'like' to make this particular comparison.
3 as if: In order to make a correct construction, 'as if' must be followed by the subject of the sentence (It was as if he didn't see me).
Exercise 3
a child, Susan Bliss always dreamed about what it would be to live in America. Now that she lives in the United States, however, Susie believes that the two ways of life are to each other.
As 1 a child, Susan Bliss always dreamed about what it would be like 2 to live in America. Now that she lives in the United States, however, Susie believes that the two ways of life are similar 3 to each other.
1 As: 'As a child' is the best choice here because it introduces a clause about the subject, Susan Bliss. 'As a child' is a common way to introduce a story about a given subject's youth. Example: As a child, Kevin enjoyed football.
1 Like: Although it would be grammatically correct to use 'like' here, it changes the meaning of the sentence completely. Using it would indicate that it is childish or infantile for Susan to dream about America.
2 like: 'Like' in this sentence indicates speculation. Here Susan is speculating or imagining what kind of life she would have if she lived in the United States. 'What would life be like?' is a commonly used hypothetical construction.
2 as: 'As' does not work in this particular construction.
3 similar: 'Similar' is the best choice here. It makes the comparison between the two 'ways of life'. Two things are similar to each other.
3 like: 'Like' can be used to make comparisons, but two things cannot be like to each other. Because of the preposition to, we cannot use 'like'.
3 as: 'As' does not fit in this construction. We cannot make this type of comparison with 'as'.
Exercise 4
a matter of fact, Bob is as old Bruno.
As 1 a matter of fact, Bob is as old as 2 Bruno.
1 As: The expression 'as a matter of fact' always requires 'as' to introduce it. 'As' is often used to introduce comparisons. 'As a matter of fact' introduces a factual or true statement.
1 In: We can say 'in fact' but not 'in a matter of fact'. The best choice here is 'as'.
2 as: 'As' correctly expresses the comparison between the ages of Bruno and Bob. 'He is AS old AS Bruno' is an example of a comparison of equality, which requires 'as' to both introduce and complete the comparison.
2 that: 'That' does not fit in this type of comparative construction.
2 for: 'For' is incorrect. Using 'for' in this construction is grammatically incorrect. 'For' is not used in comparative constructions like this one.
Exercise 5
Susie: As far I am concerned, neither your collection of expensive cars nor your designer clothing impresses me.
Philip*: I see. the head of the sales department, I'm used to criticism.
Susie: yet, I have never met anybody you. You're a ruthless, disgusting pig!
Philip: Thank you. And about that date tonight?
* Remember: Philip is the Director of Sales at the Delavigne Corporation.
Philip*: I see. the head of the sales department, I'm used to criticism.
Susie: yet, I have never met anybody you. You're a ruthless, disgusting pig!
Philip: Thank you. And about that date tonight?
* Remember: Philip is the Director of Sales at the Delavigne Corporation.
Susie: As far as 1 I am concerned, neither your collection of expensive cars nor your designer clothing impresses me.
Philip*: I see. As 2 the head of the sales department, I'm used to criticism.
Susie: As 3 yet, I have never met anybody like 4 you. You're a ruthless, disgusting pig!
Philip: Thank you. And about that date tonight?
* Remember: Philip is the Director of Sales at the Delavigne Corporation.
Philip*: I see. As 2 the head of the sales department, I'm used to criticism.
Susie: As 3 yet, I have never met anybody like 4 you. You're a ruthless, disgusting pig!
Philip: Thank you. And about that date tonight?
* Remember: Philip is the Director of Sales at the Delavigne Corporation.
1 as: 'As' is the correct way to finish this expression. 'As far as I am concerned' introduces a statement of personal opinion. For example, 'As far as I am concerned, this project is finished. I won't spend any more time on it.'
1 who: 'Who' does not work here. We must use the 'as...(adjective)...as' construction in this case.
1 that: 'That' does not make sense here. We must use the 'as...(adjective)...as' construction in this case.
2 As: 'As' is correct here because Philip is describing himself 'as an experienced professional'. 'As' is often used to identify oneself or one's role. Example: 'As a shareholder in this company, I have a right to express my opinion', or 'As a veteran of the Vietnam war, I am used to watching people die horrible deaths.'
2 Like: Although it is grammatically correct, using 'like' in this construction completely changes the meaning of the sentence. 'Like the sales director...' introduces a comparison between Philip and the sales director, whereas Philip IS the sales director, and is simply identifying himself as such!
2 For: 'For' is incorrect. 'For' has many uses, but using it here would indicate an action being done 'on behalf of' or 'in the service of' the sales director, which makes no sense in this construction.
3 As: 'As yet' is the best choice here. It tells us that Susie has never met anyone like Philip 'before' or 'up to this point in time'.
3 So: 'So' is incorrect because the expression 'so yet' does not make sense.
3 Just: 'Just' is incorrect here. 'Just yet' does not fit into this particular construction.
4 like: 'Like' is the correct answer. 'I have never met anyone like you' indicates Philip's unique personality in this context. 'Like' compares Philip to everyone else that Susie has ever met!
4 as: 'As' is incorrect because 'as you' is grammatically incorrect in this construction.
4 to: 'To' is incorrect here because it does not fit into this particular construction.
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