The tiny word "as," like a routine handoff in football, smoothly links one part of the action to another. But watch out. Mishandling "as" can lead to costly errors.

Can you spot the butterfingers at work in these sentences? (And can you name the team for which each quarterback plays?)

No. 1: Justin Herbert is careful as far as his handoffs.

No. 2: As Dak Prescott's handoff slipped, his running back fumbled.

No. 3: Josh Allen's handoffs are as good or better than Lamar Jackson's.

No. 4: Matthew Stafford's skills are as follow: handing-off, running and passing.

No. 5: Joe Burrow allowed as how he had not practiced the Statue of Liberty play all week.

Now let's pick up all those yellow penalty flags:

No. 1: Clipping! Grammar referees throw flags when the truncated "as far as" replaces "with" or "concerned." Write instead, "Herbert is careful with his handoffs." Or at least complete the handoff by writing, "Herbert is careful as far as his handoffs are concerned."

No. 2: Too many men on the field! Does the writer mean that the running back fumbled BECAUSE Prescott's hand slipped, or that Prescott's hand was slipping WHEN the running back fumbled? Using "as" to mean "because" can lead to ambiguity.

No. 3: Illegal formation! When you use "as" and "than" to compare items, insert the second "as" to keep the sentence parallel, e.g., Josh Allen's handoffs are as good as, or better than, Lamar Jackson's. Two other solutions: "Allen's handoffs are as good as Jackson's, or even better," or "Allen's handoffs are at least as good as Jackson's, or better."

No. 4: Holding! Don't hold rigidly to the mistaken notion that "as follows" should become "as follow" to agree with either the plural subject or the plural items that follow it. The idiomatic construction "as follows," which is a shortened form of "as it follows," is ALWAYS correct, even when many things are being listed. Thus, both "Stafford's skills are as follows" and "Stafford's repertoire is as follows" are correct.

No. 5: Unnecessary roughness! The use of "allowed as how" to mean "admitted that" is a dialectal idiom in the southern United States. Using "allowed" for "admitted" is fine but using "allowed as how" instead of "allowed that" is regarded as nonstandard English.

Quarterbacks and teams: Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers); Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys); Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills); Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens); Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams); Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals).

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. His new book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, California, 90254.

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