CONFUSING 'LIKE" (VERB vs PREPOSITION) & AS

Here's a chart and an explanation of the confusing uses of LIKE, as a verb or a prepostion. Study the examples.

Would like vs. (Do) like

What kind of food do you like? (Facts, personal preferences)

I  like your new car.

I like ice cream, bananas. 

I like Chinese food.

What kind of food would you like? (If you could choose)

I would like Italian food.

I' d like another glass of wine, please.

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Be like vs. Look like

What does John like? (What are his personal preferences?)

He likes horror movies, basketball, chocolate ice cream...

What does John look like? (Physical description)

He is tall, dark and handsome.
He has black hair and wears glasses.

What is John like? (Description of personality)

He is a nice guy. He is very kind and friendly.
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Confusing Like vs. As

The World is Your Oyster
As and Like in this post. Let’s take a look at these at times confusing words.

 LIKE = similar to, the same as. You cannot use as in this way

• You have a huge house! It’s like a palace (not as a palace)
• You love romantic films, like me (not as me)
• I love eating in the garden. It’s like being on holiday. (not as being)
• It’s raining again! I hate 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/this) or -ing ( like being)

Sometimes we can use like = for example

• Some people, like my dentist, run half marathons once a week.

Note: We can also use such as = for example

• Some people, such as my dentist, run half marathons once a week

AS = in the same way as, or in the same condition as. We use as before the subject + verb

• As I said at the meeting last week, I think we should revise our sales forecasts.
• If you had done as I said, we wouldn’t be in this situation.

Note: we can use Like in the above examples in informal spoken English, NOT written English.

• Like I said at the meeting last week, I think we should revise our sales forecasts.

Compare as and like in these sentences:

• You should have done it as I showed you (or like I showed you – spoken)
• You should have done it like this. (not as this)

As can also be a preposition, but the meaning is different to like. Let’s take a look:

• As an English Language Trainer, I have many lessons to prepare. (As a trainer =in my position as a trainer)
• Like my teaching colleagues, I have many lessons to prepare. ( Like my teaching colleagues = the same as my colleagues)

As (preposition) = in the position of, in the form of

• A few years ago I worked as a financial adviser.
• We haven’t got a separate office, so we use the fourth bedroom as an office.
• London is wonderful as a city to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

LINK TO EXERCISE: AS OR LIKE?