take for and take as

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

Please read the sentence:

Don't take me for a fool. I am not so easily taken in.

Could you please explain if I can use "as" instead of "for" ?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[Raymott]

Dear teachers,

Please read the sentence:

Don't take me for a fool. I am not so easily taken in.

Could you please explain if I can use "as" instead of "for" ?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

No, this is a collocation that always goes "take sb for sth".
"When I said you could examine me, I took you for a doctor!"
"Would people take me for a hooker if I wore this outfit?"

If you change it to "as", it doesn't have the same meaning.

[sarat_106]

Dear teachers,

Please read the sentence:

Don't take me for a fool. I am not so easily taken in.

Could you please explain if I can use "as" instead of "for" ?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

No, you can not use 'as' which is primarrily used as an adverb or conjuction. What you need here is an appropriate preposition and nothing is better than the word "for".

[jiang]

Dear Raymott,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Could you please kindly explain what meaning "take as" has?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

No, this is a collocation that always goes "take sb for sth".
"When I said you could examine me, I took you for a doctor!"
"Would people take me for a hooker if I wore this outfit?"

If you change it to "as", it doesn't have the same meaning.

[Raymott]

Dear Raymott,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Could you please kindly explain what meaning "take as" has?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

"Alright, I'll take that as a request for more information." (regard as)
The meaning here is straightforward. It's not an idiom. It has a range of meanings depending on the context and the meaning of "take."
"Will you take this as full payment?" (accept as)
"Don't try to change me! Take me as I am." (accept as)

All these sentences could use "for".
"Will you take this for full payment"
"Take me for what I am"
But it's best to use "as".