Like or as – How to use them
‘Like’ meaning ‘similar to, the same as something’.
Here ‘like’ is a preposition. So it is followed by a noun (like a palace), a pronoun (like this) or -ing (like walking).
What a beautiful house! It’s like a palace. (not as a palace)
Be careful! The floor has been polished. It’s like walking on ice. (not as walking)
It’s raining again. I hate weather like this. (not as this)
I love you so much. There’s nobody like you. (not as you)
‘What’s that noise?’ ‘It sounds like a baby crying.’ (not as a baby crying)
You can also use ‘like’ meaning ‘for example’. (You can also use such as.)
I enjoy water sports, like surfing, scuba diving and water-skiing. = I enjoy water sports, such as surfing scuba diving and water-skiing.
‘As’ meaning ‘in the same way as, in the same condition as’.
We use as with subject (S) + verb (V):
I didn’t move anything. I left everything as it was.
You should have done it as I showed you.
We also use ‘like’ in this way (+ subject + verb):
You can say:
You should have done it as I showed you. or … like I showed you.
but You should have done it like this. (not as this – only a pronoun is after like)
In expressions:
We say as usual / as always:
You’re late as usual.
As always, Nick was the first to complain.
We say the same as … :
Your phone is the same as mine. (not the same like)
We also say as you know / as I said / as she expected / as I thought etc. :
As you know, it’s Emma’s birthday next week. (= you know this already)
Andy failed his driving test, as he expected. (= he expected this before)
‘Like’ is not usual in these expressions, except with say (like I said):
As I said yesterday, I’m sure we can solve the problem. or Like I said yesterday …
‘As’ meaning ‘in the position of, in the form of’ etc.
Here ‘as’ is a preposition and we can use it with a noun.
Many years ago I worked as a photographer. (I was a photographer)
London is fine as a place to visit, but I wouldn’t like to live there.
The news of the tragedy came as a great shock.
When we use ‘as’ as a preposition, the meaning is different from ‘like’.
Compare:
As a taxi driver, I spend most of my working life in a car. (I am a taxi driver, it’s my job.)
Everyone in the family wants me to drive them to places. I’m like a taxi driver. (I’m not a taxi driver, but I’m like one.)
