What is the function of と when it's not quoting, or doing exhaustive listing?


Consider these two sentences:

> (1) 母はついてくるようにアリスに合図した (Mother signaled to Alice to follow her)
>
> (2) 父は手で私に部屋を出ていくように **`と`** 合図した。 (Father gestured to me to go out of the
> room)

And another sentence which I suspect has the same use of と as (2) but I cannot
exactly say what it does:

> (3) この本は子供を対象 **`と`** した本です。(Unnatural: This book is a book that is done in
> order for children to be targets) (Natural: This is a book for children)

Now I deconstruct the use of `AをBとC` in (3) to mean "Do verb C to achieve
state B in direct object A"

**(Question)** How would I understand the use of `と` in (2)? Since (1) does
not require `と` yet has a similar structure involving `ように`. But `XようにY` means
"to do Y so that X can happen". What happens when `と` is added to the mix as
in (2)?

(Example sentences taken from WWWJDIC)




Francis Drohan's _A handbook of Japanese usage_ has four whole pages on the
usages of と, so I don't think a comprehensive answer is appropriate here. But
a few key points:

  * There are two kinds of と: one is a case particle (格助詞), and another is a conjunctive particle (接続助詞). In both your examples, と is being used as a case particle.

  * According to Drohan, there are 7 main uses for the case particle と: Listing, accompaniment, target of comparison, result of change, adverbialisation, quotation, and simile.

  * と in your example (2) is being used to denote quotation. ‘Father signalled to me with his hand, “get out of the room.”’

  * と in your example (3) is being used to denote the result of change. (In fact, Drohan gives the following example: 学生を対象とする。 It is meant for students.) The construction 〜とする here has the connotation of a decision being made: the target audience was _set_ to be students.

Drohan gives some other examples of this usage:

> 塵も積もれば山となる。 Many a little makes a mickle.
>
> 夜となく昼となく働く。 They work morning, noon and night.

  * However, the collocation 〜とする also has other uses, e.g. 学生として ‘as a student’, なかったとしたら ‘supposing there were none’, etc.




Francis Drohan's _A handbook of Japanese usage_ has four whole pages on the
usages of と, so I don't think a comprehensive answer is appropriate here. But
a few key points:

  * There are two kinds of と: one is a case particle (格助詞), and another is a conjunctive particle (接続助詞). In both your examples, と is being used as a case particle.

  * According to Drohan, there are 7 main uses for the case particle と: Listing, accompaniment, target of comparison, result of change, adverbialisation, quotation, and simile.

  * と in your example (2) is being used to denote quotation. ‘Father signalled to me with his hand, “get out of the room.”’

  * と in your example (3) is being used to denote the result of change. (In fact, Drohan gives the following example: 学生を対象とする。 It is meant for students.) The construction 〜とする here has the connotation of a decision being made: the target audience was _set_ to be students.

Drohan gives some other examples of this usage:

> 塵も積もれば山となる。 Many a little makes a mickle.
>
> 夜となく昼となく働く。 They work morning, noon and night.

  * However, the collocation 〜とする also has other uses, e.g. 学生として ‘as a student’, なかったとしたら ‘supposing there were none’, etc.

