English Language & Usage Asked on May 2, 2021
Could you help explain the usage of ‘as’ in these two sentences?
The parents looked upon their children as their pride and joy.
People looked upon the situation as critical.
In sentence one, ‘as’ is a preposition since it’s followed by nouns. Am I correct? Why is ‘as’ followed by an adjective in the second sentence?
[1] The parents looked upon their children [as their pride and joy]. [NP]
[2] People looked upon the situation [as critical]. [AdjP]
This use of preposition "as" is not restricted to just NP complements.
In both examples the complements of "as" are predicative complements in that they refer to a predicand, "their children" in [1], and "the situation" in [2].
Note that this "as" is the prepositional analogue of the verb "be" (cf. The situation was critical. / Their children were their pride and joy).
Compare also
They chose her [as secretary]. [NP]
I regard him [as indispensable]. [AdjP]
Correct answer by BillJ on May 2, 2021
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