Is it more correct to say
a) John was appointed as manager of ACME.
or
b) John was appointed manager of ACME.
Or are they interchangeable?
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1John was appointed manager of ACME sounds more natural. According to OALD however, as is optional.– IreneMar 30, 2012 at 11:08
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2 Answers
Then there's also:
c) John was appointed to be manager of ACME
All three are interchangeable in terms of meaning, but the one without as or to be is the most common:
If you're looking for one to use, I would go for was appointed manager, just because it sounds more natural.
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This same result is supported with 'director' as the noun, and the sample size is slightly larger, too.– mbaumanMar 30, 2012 at 13:52
If you look for 'appoint' in online English-English dictionaries like Merriam-Webster, Longman, Collins, Macmillan or others you'll see both cases where 'as' is used and those where 'as' is omitted. To me absence of 'as' makes the appointment sound that much more solemn and serious, i.e. its more formal. But I guess its a matter of style and personal preference and both options can be used interchangeably.
