What's the difference between "LIKE" and "AS"?

11. 5. 2018

What is the difference between Like and As

"Like" and "as" are often confused. They have specific uses but remembering where to use them can be tricky.

Let's start with like. Basically, "like" is used to express "the same way" and "similar to."

How to use Like and As

Examples of Like:

"I cook like my mum." - this means that my cooking style is similar to my mum's

"It's snowing again. I love weather like this!" - this means that I like it when it snows or rains or something similar, and probably not sunny weather.

"She has such a small house. It looks like a dollhouse!" - this means that her house is really small, and, compared to normal houses, it could be a dollhouse

"What does your sister do? She's a hairdresser like our mother." - your mother is a hairdresser and so is your sister

Examples of As:

As is used to express "in the same condition" of something or "in the same way" of something or someone. It should be used before a subject + verb. An example of this would be if you have I + learned. We could then say "I will teach you to cook just as I learned it." This means that I will teach you to cook in the same manner that I learned it. We will then both cook either the same or similarly. Here are some more examples:

"We should make a snowman, as the snow is just right." - the snow is not too wet, not too dry, so it should make a good snowman

"You should have kept the files as they were. I can't find anything now!" - this means that the files have been moved/changed and the other person would like them to have stayed the same way they were before

"As most people do, she eats dinner every night around 6:00 pm." - in general, people eat dinner around 6:00 pm, and she does too