More difficulty with "as": >1 laws ***as*** they existed in the 1900s >2 laws ***as*** they relate to public schools According to standard English, the two sentences mean respectively: >3 laws ***in the form*** they existed in in the 1900s >4 laws ***in the way*** they relate to public schools Sentence 3 makes sense, because it means "laws of a certain type". But, I couldn't quite make the same connection with sentence 4. Laws are not action, so using "in the way" with laws seem strange.