A
Like = “similar to,” “the same as.” You cannot use as in this way:
– What a beautiful house! It’s like a palace. (not as a palace)
– “What does Sandra do?” “She’s a teacher, like me.” (not as me)
– Be careful! The floor has been polished. It’s like walking on ice. (not as walking)
– It’s raining again. I have weather like this. (not as this)
In these sentences, like is a preposition. So it is followed by a noun (like a palace), a pronoun (like me / like this), or -ing (like walking).
You can also say “… like (somebody/something) doing something”:
– “What’s that noise?” “It sounds like a baby crying.”
B
Sometimes like = for example:
– Some sports, such as race-car driving, can be dangerous.
You can also use such as (= for example):
– Some sports, such as race-car driving, can be dangerous.
C
As = in the same way as, or in the sme condition as. We use as before subject + verb:
– I didn’t move anything. I left everything as it was.
– You should have done it as I showed you. (= the way I showed you)
Like is also possible in informal spoken English:
– I left everything like it was.
Compare as and like:
– You should have done it as I showed you. (or like I showed you)
– You should have done it like this. (not as this)
Note that we say as usual / as always:
– You’re late as usual.
– As always, Nick was the first to complain.
D
Sometimes as (+ subject + verb) has other meanings, For example, after do:
– You can do as you like. (= do what you like)
– They did as they promised. (= They did what they promised)
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)
– Ann failed her driving test, as she expected. (= she expected this before)
Like is not common 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 …
E
As can also be a preposition, but the meaning is different from like. Compare:
-—————————–
Brenda Casey is the manager of a company.
As the manager, she has to make many important decisions.
(At the manager = in her position as the manager)
-—————————–
Mary Stone is the assistant manager.
Like the manager (Brenda Casey), she also has to make important decisions.
(Like the manager = similar to the manager)
-—————————–
As (preposition) = in the position of, in the form of, etc.:
– A few years ago I worked as a taxi driver. (not like a taxi driver)
– We don’t have a car, so we use the garage as a workshop.
– Many words, for example “work” and “rain,” can be used as verbs or nouns.
– New York is all right as a place to visit, but I wouldn’t like to live there.
– The news of the tragedy came as a great shock.
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