usage of 'as + noun/adjective'

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

Moderator: Alan

Locked
vpkannan
Member
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:02 am
Location: Chennai, India

usage of 'as + noun/adjective'

Post by vpkannan »

Dear Alan

What are the parts of speech of 'as' and 'true' in 'It is accepted as true.' Is 'as' preposition or adverb and is 'true' noun or adjective?

With regards

V P Kannan
User avatar
Alan
Teacher/Moderator
Teacher/Moderator
Posts: 15204
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2003 7:56 pm
Status: Teacher of English
Location: Japan

Re: usage of 'as + noun/adjective'

Post by Alan »

'True' here is most definitely an adjective, since the phrase is elliptical for

'accepted as BEING true'.

Regarding the status of 'as', however, not all linguists would agree.

Traditionally, 'as' is classified as a conjunction, but, as such there would, strictly speaking, have to be an implicit finite verb, which, in this case, is - to say the least - difficult to identify. For that reason (as in such constructions as 'I say this as your father', with 'as' meaning essentially 'in the role/capacity of') many grammarians would consider it to be functioning here as a preposition.
Locked