UNACHLANGUAGES

CAREERGROUP N° 6

Diana MendozaElvis Guaranga

“LIKE” AND “AS”

Like is used as a preposition and should

be followed by a noun: "She works in a hotel, like me." - We

both work in a hotel. The structure of the sentence is usually: VERB + LIKE + NOUN / PRONOUN. He speaks like a native speaker.

“LIKE”

Like is also possible in informal spoken

English I left everything like it was.

As is a conjunction, and can be used before a clause containing a verb.

The structure of the sentence is usually: AS + SUBJECT + VERB. Nobody sings as she does. NOTE THAT WE SAY AS USUAL / AS

ALWAYS: You’re late as usual. As always, Nick was the first to

complain.

“AS”

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 (=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 you know, this is not the first time

your son has been a problem in class. (you know that.)

As expected, Ben was late for class again today. 

As I said, I hope this is the last time you are late. 

Here is the report, as requested. 

COMMON PHRASES

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 haven’t got a car, so we use

the garage as a workshop.

AS PREPOSITION

We use as to talk about function. I worked as a teacher for 2 years

when I lived in Barcelona. She used his chair as a stool to

climb over a wall.

WHEN TO USE “AS”

,we use ‘as adjective as’. He’s not as handsome as his

brother He jumped as high as he

could.

IN COMPARISONS

In the following comparisons as is a

conjunction – it’s followed by a clause with a subject and a verb.

He went to Wellington Idiomas to study English as his father did before him.

She’s a talented singer, as most of her family were.

Be careful, in similar sentences that use LIKE and AS, the meanings of each sentence are very different. For example:

  As your boss, I must warn you to be

careful. (I am your boss.) Like your boss, I must warn you to be

careful. (I am not your boss, but he/she and I have similar attitudes.)

LIKE vs. AS

When listing things that are similar it is better to avoid 'like' and use 'such as', as in these examples.

The hero has many engaging qualities like courage, kindness and compassion.

The hero has many engaging qualities such as courage, kindness and compassion.

I have visited many tropical countries like India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei.

I have visited many tropical countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei.

CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWER The situation is quite serious; just _______ we

heard yesterday. LIKE AS From this angle, the building looks _______ the

Empire State Building. LIKE AS

EXERCISES

Monkeys live on a variety of fruit _______

bananas, oranges and breadfruit. LIKE SUCH AS The pasta stew looked and tasted _______

porridge. LIKE AS _______ we heard, the hurricane is coming! LIKE AS

We could go down to the beach, just _______ we used to.

LIKE AS WRITE THE CORRECT ANSWER LIKE OR AS Your English is very fluent. I wish I could

speak     you.  Don't take my advice if you don't want

to. You can do   you like.  I wish I had a car  yours. My neighbour's house is full of

interesting things. It's  a museum.

When we asked Sue to help us, she agreed immediately,  I knew she would.

like

aslike

like

as

Sharon has been working   a waitress for

the last two months. We don’t need all the bedrooms in the house,

so we use one of them     a study.  her father, Catherine has a very

good voice.  The news that Sue and Jim were getting

married came   a complete surprise to me.

My sister is not at all like/as me.  I've had my hair cut, like/as you can see.  Tom has joined a telephone company like/as

product manager. When James was a student, he worked every

summer like/as a waiter.

as

aslike

as

Julie is completely overworked.  She works

like/as a slave!  Today is Friday, so today, like/as on every

Friday, we wear casual wear. Strong leaders, like/as Winston Churchill, are

few and far between. He's a very good swimmer.  He can swim

like/as a fish!