Grammer: Can you use "as" twice in a sentence?
Grammer: Can you use “as” twice in a sentence?
A friend of mine is self-publishing a book and asked me to look over it. This friend is very sensitive to criticism and reluctant to make most changes.
One problem that I can see is his repetitive use of “as” in the same sentence:
“As music is something I appreciate greatly, I decided that I would buy Tom's Music Studio [a figurine], as I had not seen a music building [figurine] before.”
The first time I saw a sentence like this, I edited it so that only one “as” was in the sentence. However, he does this repeatedly throughout the book. Before I proceed to rip through his entire book correcting the error, I wanted to ask the question first.
Is the use of “as” twice in the same sentence permissible, in the manner in which he is using it? Is this grammatically correct? I argue with him that it is not correct but the author refuses to listen.
Please also note that in the quote above, the words in brackets are not part of the actual sentence.
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July 07 2009 07:19 pm | Uncategorized
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July 7th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
The frequent use of "as" is merely a symptom of the lack of mental agility – the possession of which is necessary to write anything worth reading.
July 7th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
hope this helps!
July 7th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
July 7th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
July 7th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
July 7th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
There is nothing technically wrong with the practice, but it is not ideal. It makes the sentence clunky, and thus makes the author sound less professional.
The second 'as' in the sentence you quote has a very different meaning from the first, and it is synonymous with 'because'. If you offer your friend some suggestions like this, this particular criticism won't be too harsh.
Then again, if he wants to use 'as' so much that he's going to argue with you, it's his funeral!
July 7th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Edit:
Darn! I thought I was going to get in first that time!
As far as "As you can see, its been as yesterday when it was last seen," even if you put "it's" in place or the improper "its" I still see not much understandable or grammatically correct with that sentence. Please, correct me if I am wrong.
Regarding the next one, perhaps I am being too critical, but anyone using a singular and a plural in the same sentence and/or not capitalizing words correctly, I would have a hard time taking them seriously as far as any kind of grammar critic or source of information.
there are no grammatical rule?
There is no grammatical rule, or there are no grammatical rules.
What I would suggest is you both read it out loud to the other (no, not the whole book!) and see if he notices it sounds a bit odd. Then perhaps you can suggest something such as "since," or "because." Methinks he will take well to your hinting in such a way. If nothing else, you can use me as a reference/expert and tell him you read somewhere that over-using the same word can be very distracting and that someone used the word "as" five times in one sentence as an example. (Look at my first sentence.) That should take the heat off of you, or as they say…. Never mind.