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Unit 107. Like and as
A.
Like = similar to / the same as / for example:
What a beautiful house! It’s like a palace, (not as a palace)
“What does George do?” “He’s a teacher, like me.” (not as me)
Why do you always talk about boring things like your job?
Be careful! The floor was just waxed. It’s like walking on ice.
It’s raining again. I hate weather like this.
Like is a preposition. So it is followed by a noun (“like a palace / like your job”), a pronoun (“like me / like this”), or -ing (“like walking”). You can also say “like (someone/something) -ing”:
“What’s that noise?” “It sounds like a baby crying.”
B.
We use as before a subject + verb:
Don’t move anything. Leave everything as it is.
Compare like and as in these sentences:
You should have done it like this, (like + pronoun)
You should have done it as I showed you. (as + subject + verb)
But we use such as (= for example) without a verb:
Some sports, such as auto racing, can be dangerous. Note that we say as usual:
You’re late as usual.
C.
As + subject + verb can have other meanings. For example:
Do as you are told! (= Do what you are told.)
They did as they promised. (= They did what they promised.)
You can also say as you know / as we expected / as I said / as I thought, etc.:
As you know, it’s Tom’s birthday next week. (= you know this already)
Ann failed her driving test, as we expected.
D.As can also be a preposition (which means you can use it with a noun), but the meaning is different from like.
We use like when we compare things:
She looks beautiful – like a princess, (she isn’t really a princess)
Everyone is sick at home. Our house is like a hospital, (it isn’t really a hospital)
We use as + noun to say what something really is or was (especially when we talk about someone’s job or how we use something):
A few years ago I worked as a waiter. (I really was a waiter)
Sue has just found a job as a sales clerk.
During the war this hotel was used as a hospital, (so it really was a hospital)
We don’t have a car, so we use the garage as a workshop.
The news of her death came as a great shock, (it really was a shock)
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