as
part of speech
preposition (as a teacher); conjunction (as he left, as you know); adverb (as tall as)
meaning for a pupil
1) As means in the role of: she works as a nurse. tree →
2) As means in the same way or the same amount: as tall as his dad, as many as. tree →
3) As can mean at the same time: as I walked in, the bell rang. tree →
4) As can mean because: as it was raining, we stayed inside. tree →
5) (casual) In strong chatty talk «as» after a word means «very»: it's cold as, he's mad as (Australia, NZ, UK slang: «sweet as» means great). tree →
6) (casual) «As if!» means «that will never happen» or «no way». tree →
7) (formal) The exam voice uses «as» in stiff phrases: «as follows», «as stated above», «as specified», «in so far as», «inasmuch as». tree →
sense in the lessons
seeing one operation like another, as in «multiplying as equal groups»; in comparisons «as many as» (equal), «twice as many as» (×2), «half as many as» (÷2); in everyday life «as well» (too), «as soon as», «such as» (for example), «as usual», «as if»; in Australian and NZ talk «sweet as» (great), «easy as»; in the exam voice «as follows», «as given», «as stated»
examples
- Today's lesson: Multiplying as equal groups. tree →
- Lily has as many stickers as Max. tree →
- Tom has twice as many marbles as Sue. tree →
- As I opened the door, the cat ran out. tree →
- He dressed up as a pirate for the party. tree →
- You can bring fruits such as apples and grapes. tree →
- As it was late, we went straight to bed. tree →
- Do it as soon as you can. tree →
- «Can you do the dishes?» «Sweet as, mate.» tree →
- it's cold as out there, bring ya jacket tree →
- «Your brother will share his chips.» «As if!» tree →
- The quantities are as follows: Tom possesses twice as many marbles as Sue, who possesses 6. tree →
- All was as still as salt. tree →
note
In «as many as» the two amounts are equal; in «twice as many as» multiply by 2; in «half as many as» divide by 2. Trap: «as» alone carries no operation clue. «as … as» compares with the plain adjective: as big as, not as bigger as. Slang «cold as», «sweet as» end with «as» and nothing after: it only means «very»; there is no comparison to work out. «As if!» means «never», not a comparison. «as follows» in an exam means the facts come next.
In the corpora
- An employment tribunal is a kind of court for work disputes, such as being sacked unfairly or not being paid what is owed.
- Benefits are paid for by everyone's taxes as a safety net, and many families who work get some help too.
- An inheritance is money or belongings left by someone who has died, as written in their will.
- Most grown-ups keep their money in a bank account, and most of it is never seen as notes and coins.
- It moves as numbers when a card is tapped, a bill goes out or pay comes in.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «as» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.