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Could you help explain the usage of 'as' in these two sentences?

  1. The parents looked upon their children as their pride and joy.

  2. People looked upon the situation as critical.

In sentence one, 'as' is a preposition since it's followed by nouns. Am I correct? Why is 'as' followed by an adjective in the second sentence?

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    The prep "as" is not restricted to just NP complements. In your second example the adjective is a predicative complement. It's predicative because it is related to a predicand, i.e. "situation". Note that this "as" is the prepositional analogue of the verb "be" (cf. "the situation was critical."). Compare also "I regard his behaviour as unacceptable".
    – BillJ
    Commented Mar 1, 2021 at 11:43
  • ... and 'I see this room as needing painting'.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Mar 1, 2021 at 12:09
  • Non-finite clauses can function as complement of "as", but unlike the OP's examples they are not predicative, and hence irrelevant here.
    – BillJ
    Commented Mar 1, 2021 at 17:24

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[1] The parents looked upon their children [as their pride and joy]. [NP]

[2] People looked upon the situation [as critical]. [AdjP]

This use of preposition "as" is not restricted to just NP complements.

In both examples the complements of "as" are predicative complements in that they refer to a predicand, "their children" in [1], and "the situation" in [2].

Note that this "as" is the prepositional analogue of the verb "be" (cf. The situation was critical. / Their children were their pride and joy).

Compare also

They chose her [as secretary]. [NP]

I regard him [as indispensable]. [AdjP]

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