As

We useaswith a noun to refer to the role or purpose of a person or thing:

I workedasa waiter when I was a student. Most of us did.

Not:I worked like a waiter…

[TheDaily Telegraphis a British newspaper]

The Daily Telegraph appointed Trevor Groveasits Sunday editor.

Internet shopping is seenasa cheaper alternative to shopping on the high street.

A sarong is essential holiday gear. It can be usedasa beach towel, wrap, dress or scarf and will take up no space in your bag.

I would like to have a white catlikethe one in my dream.

Not: …as the one in my dream

The conjunctionashas several different meanings. We useaswhen one event happens while another is in progress (‘during the time that’). In this case the verb after is often in the continuous form:

They arrivedaswe were leaving.(time conjunction meaning ‘while’ or ‘when’)

We useasto connect a result with a cause:

I went to bed at 9 pmasI had a plane to catch at 6 am.(reason and result meaning ‘because’)

We also useasto mean ‘in the way that’:

Asthe forecast predicted, the weather was dreadful for the whole of the weekend.

She arrived early,asI expected.

We useaswiththe sameto talk about identical things:

Your jacket isthe samecolourasmine.

We useasto introduce two events happening at the same time. Afteraswith this meaning, we usually use a simple (rather than continuous) form of the verb:

Asthe show increases in popularity, more and more tickets are sold daily.