as it were

Usage Note: Your mother is just as proud as me, said the father to the child with good grades. But should he have said, Your mother is just as proud as I? As with similar constructions using than, a traditional rule states that the pronoun following as ... as ... constructions must be in the nominative case because She is just as proud as I is really a truncated version of the sentence She is just as proud as I am. Another way to view this situation is to say that the second as functions as a conjunction, not as a preposition, in these sentences. Whatever the merits of this logic, the as me construction is very common in speech and appears regularly in the writing of highly respected writers. Moreover, it can be argued that the second as is really a preposition in these constructions and so requires the objective case. There is the further objection that as I constructions are overly formal, and even pretentious. In short, both constructions are defensible, and both are subject to attack. The safe bet is to include the final verb to make a clause: She is just as proud as I am. · In many dialects, people use as in place of that in sentences like We are not sure as we want to go or It's not certain as he left. But this use of as is limited mostly to speaking, and it will likely seem inappropriate in formal writing. · Some nonstandard varieties of American English differ from the standard language in the form and usage of relative pronouns. Where Standard English has three relative pronouns—who, which, and that—regional dialects, particularly those of the South and Midlands, allow as and what as relative pronouns: "They like nothing better than the job of leading off a young feller like you, as ain't never been away from home much" (Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage). The car what hit him never stopped. · When as expresses a causal relation, it should be preceded by a comma, as in She won't be coming, as we didn't invite her. When as expresses a time relation, it is not preceded by a comma: She was finishing the painting as I walked into the room. When an as-clause begins a sentence, it may be necessary to make clear whether as is used to mean "because" or "at the same time that." The sentence As they were leaving, I walked to the door may mean either "I walked to the door because they were leaving" or "I walked to the door at the same time that they were leaving." · As is sometimes used after verbs like consider, deem, and account, as in The paintings are considered as masterpieces in their home country. The measure was deemed as unnecessary. This usage may have arisen by analogy to the long-established use of as after regard and esteem in standard contexts: We regarded her as the best writer among us. In our 2009 survey, however, more than 80 percent of the Usage Panel rejected sentences in which as followed consider in this way, including the sentence just quoted. These constructions bear the stigma of redundancy and should be avoided in careful writing. See Usage Notes at because, equal, like², so¹.