as [æz] [əz]
For set combinations in which as is not the first word, eg such ... as, the same ... as, dressed as, acknowledge as, look up the other word.
conjunction
1 (in time clauses)
You can usually use [cuando] when the [as] clause simply tells you when an event happened:
cuando as I was passing the house cuando pasaba por delante de la casa; he came in as I was leaving entró cuando yo salía
Alternatively, use [al] + infinitive:
he came in as I was leaving entró al salir yo; he tripped as he was coming out of the bank tropezó al salir or cuando salía del banco; as the car drew level with us, I realized Isabel was driving al llegar el coche a nuestra altura or cuando el coche llegó a nuestra altura, me di cuenta de que lo conducía Isabel
Translate [as] using [mientras] for longer actions which are happening at the same time:
(while) mientras as we walked, we talked about the future mientras caminábamos, hablábamos del futuro
In the context of two closely linked actions involving parallel development, translate [as] using [a medida que] or [conforme]. Alternatively, use [según va] etc + gerund:
as one gets older, life gets more and more difficult a medida que se envejece or conforme se envejece or según va uno envejeciendo, la vida se hace cada vez más difícil; as he got older he got deafer a medida que or conforme envejeció se fue volviendo más sordo; según fue envejeciendo se fue volviendo más sordo
2 (in reason clauses)
When [as] means "since" or "because", you can generally use [como], provided you put it at the beginning of the sentence. Alternatively, use the more formal [puesto que] either at the beginning of the sentence or between the clauses or [ya que] especially between the clauses.
como; (more frm) puesto que; ya que as you're here, I'll tell you como estás aquí or puesto que estás aquí, te lo diré; he didn't mention it as he didn't want to worry you como no quería preocuparte, no lo mencionó; no lo mencionó puesto que no quería preocuparte
he couldn't come as he had an appointment no pudo asistir porque or puesto que or ya que tenía un compromiso; patient as she is, she'll probably put up with it con lo paciente que es, seguramente lo soportará
3 (describing way, manner) como
leave things as they are dejad las cosas como están; I'm okay as I am estoy bien tal como estoy; knowing him as I do, I'm sure he'll refuse conociéndolo como lo conozco, estoy seguro de que no aceptará; the village, situated as it is near a motorway, ... el pueblo, situado como está cerca de una autopista, ...; as I've said before ... como he dicho antes ...; as I was saying ... como iba diciendo ...; her door is the first as you go up su puerta es la primera según se sube; she is very gifted, as is her brother tiene mucho talento, al igual que su hermano
you'll have it by noon as agreed lo tendrá antes del mediodía, tal como acordamos
it's not bad, as hotels go no está mal, en comparación con otros hoteles
as in all good detective stories como en toda buena novela policíaca
as you know como sabe
Arsenal are playing as never before! ¡Arsenal está jugando mejor que nunca!
as often happens como suele ocurrir
he performed brilliantly, as only he can actuó de maravilla, como solo él sabe hacerlo
as you were! (Mil) ¡descansen!
do as you wish haga lo que quiera
4 (though) aunque
tired as he was, he went to the party aunque estaba cansado, asistió a la fiesta; interesting as the book is, I don't think it will sell very well el libro es interesante, pero aún así no creo que se venda bien; aunque el libro es interesante, no creo que se venda bien
try as she would or might, she couldn't lift it por más que se esforzó no pudo levantarlo; unlikely as it may seem ... por imposible que parezca ...
5 (in set structures)
as if or as though como si
it was as if or as though he were still alive era como si estuviera todavía vivo; he looked as if or as though he was ill parecía como si estuviera enfermo; it isn't as if or as though he were poor no es que sea pobre, que digamos
as if she knew! ¡como si ella lo supiera!
as if to
the little dog nodded his head, as if to agree el perrito movió la cabeza, como asintiendo
as in
it's spelled with V as in Valencia se escribe con V de Valencia
as it is
as it is, it doesn't make much difference en realidad, casi da lo mismo; as it is we can do nothing en la práctica or tal y como están las cosas no podemos hacer nada; I've got quite enough to do as it is tengo ya bastante trabajo
as it were
I'd understood the words, but I hadn't understood the question, as it were había entendido las palabras, pero no había comprendido la pregunta, por así decirlo; I have become, as it were, two people me he convertido como en dos personas; he was as it were tired and emotional estaba de alguna forma cansado y con los nervios a flor de piel
as was
that's the headmistress, the deputy as was esa es la directora, que antes era la subdirectora
preposition
2 (in the capacity of) como
he succeeded as a politician tuvo éxito como político; I don't think much of him as an actor como actor, no me gusta mucho; she treats me as her equal me trata de igual a igual; we're going as tourists vamos en plan de turismo; he was there as adviser estaba allí en calidad de asesor; Gibson as Hamlet (Teat) Gibson en el papel de Hamlet; he works as a waiter trabaja de camarero
adverb
1 (in comparisons)
as ... as tan ... como
I am as tall as him soy tan alto como él; this tree can grow as tall as 50 feet este árbol puede llegar a medir 50 pies de alto; as big as a house (tan) grande como una casa; she hit him as hard as she could lo golpeó lo más fuerte que pudo; lo golpeó tan fuerte como pudo; he was writing as long ago as 1945 en 1945 ya escribía; she doesn't walk as quickly or as fast as me no camina tan rápido como yo; walk as quickly or as fast as you can camina lo más rápido que puedas; he ate as quickly as possible comió lo más rápido posible
it was still being done by hand as recently as 1960 en 1960 todavía seguía haciéndose a mano
the fresh snow was as white as white could be la nieve fresca era todo lo blanca que podía ser; is it as far as that? ¿tan lejos está?; is it as big as all that? ¿es de verdad tan grande?
as little as
by saving as little as ten pounds a month ahorrando tan solo diez libras al mes
as many ... as tantosastantas ... como;as tantas
I haven't got as many pairs of shoes as you no tengo tantos pares de zapatos como tú; I've got a lot of tapes but I haven't got as many as him or as he has tengo muchas cintas, pero no tantas como él; she gets as many as eight thousand letters a month llega a recibir hasta ocho mil cartas al mes
as much
she thought he was an idiot, and said as much pensaba que era un idiota, y así lo expresó
as much ... as tantoatanta ... como;a tanta
I haven't got as much energy as you no tengo tanta energía como tú; you've got as much as she has tienes tanto como ella; you spend as much as me or as I do tú gastas tanto como yo; it didn't cost as much as I had expected no costó tanto como yo me esperaba; it can cost as much as $2,000 puede llegar a costar 2.000 dólares
as one
they all stood up as one se levantaron todos a la vez
half/twice/three times as ...
it's half as expensive es la mitad de caro; it's twice as expensive es el doble de caro; it's three times as expensive es tres veces más caro; she's twice as nice as her sister es el doble de simpática que su hermana
her coat cost twice as much as mine su abrigo costó el doble que el mío
without as or so much as
she gave me back the book without as much as an apology me devolvió el libro sin pedirme siquiera una disculpa
2 (in set structures)
as for
as for the children, they were exhausted en cuanto a los niños, estaban rendidos; los niños, por su parte, estaban rendidos; as for that ... en cuanto a esto ...
as from
as from tomorrow a partir de mañana
as of
as of yesterday/now a partir de ayer/ahora
as to
as to that I can't say en lo que a eso se refiere, no lo sé; as to her mother ... en cuanto a su madre ...; to question sb as to his intentions preguntar a algn sus intenciones; they make decisions as to whether students need help deciden si los alumnos necesitan ayuda; he inquired as to what the problem was preguntó cuál era el problema
as yet hasta ahora; hasta el momento
