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In this podcast we’re going to talk about the word “as”.

As can mean “at the same time as”, when two things happen at the same time. Let’s listen and read to some examples:

The kids waved as their dad drove away. (As crianças acenaram enquanto seu pai ia embora.)
I watched her cry as she was packing. She didn’t want to go away. (Eu a vi chorar enquanto fazia as malas. Ela não queria ir embora.)
Can you close the door as you go out, please? (Pode fechar a porta quando você sair, por favor?)
That old lady tripped as she was getting off the bus. (Aquela senhora tropeçou ao descer do ônibus.)
I ran into her as I was leaving the hotel. (Eu a encontrei quando saía do hotel.)

We can emphasize the exact moment when something happened by adding the word “just”. Examples:

Just as I was leaving for work, she called. (Ela ligou assim que eu estava saindo para o trabalho.)
I had to go home just as they arrived. (Tive que ir para casa assim que eles chegaram.)

The word “as” can also mean “because”.

As she didn’t come, I decided to go home. (Como ela não veio, resolve ir para casa.)
As it was a holiday, we went to the beach for the day. (Como era feriado, fomos à praia.)
As we have some time left, why don’t we go for a walk before getting back to work? (Como temos tempo sobrando, por que não fazemos uma caminhada antes de voltar ao trabalho?)
We played video games all afternoon, as we didn’t have anything better to do. (Jogamos video game a tarde toda, pois não tínhamos nada melhor para fazer.)

“As” can also mean “in the position of” or “in the same way as or in the same condition as”. Examples:

As a teacher, I always want my students to keep a study routine. (Como professor, sempre quero que meus alunos mantenham uma rotina de estudos.)
As the manager, he has to make some very hard decisions. (Como gerente, ele tem que tomar algumas decisões bem drásticas.)
The police didn’t move anything, they left everything as it was. (A polícia não mexeu em nada, deixaram tudo como estava.)
Do it as I show you. (Faça como estou te mostrando.)

This is it for today. Take care!

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