WORD TIP: Like, As, Such As... what's the difference?

When trying to decide between “like” and “as”, use like to make a comparison between two nouns.

Examples:

She looks like her mother.
Like Susan, Sally is also a blonde.
Like father, like son.

When trying to decide between “like” and “as”, use as or as if to connect words or clauses in a sentence.

“As” and “as if” are conjunctions; their function is to connect words or phrases.

“Like” is never a conjunction!

Hint: as and as if are used when the comparison involves action.

Examples:

Bobby ran as if his life depended on it.

Ran is an action verb. You would not say: "Bobby ran like his life depended on it.".

He talks as if he is an expert.
It happened just as I said it would.

What if the verb is not an action verb?

Examples:

He thinks like an accountant.

Notice, we are back to comparisons; hence, we use “like”.

He believed it was true, like the previous time.

Tip: When trying to decide between “like” and “such as”, use such as to mean “for example”.

Examples:

He enjoyed music such as rock, hip-hop and rap.

The book is riddled with errors such as incorrect use of grammar and innumerable spelling mistakes.