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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > as Vs like
as Vs like
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solracsilva
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as Vs like
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Hi everybody.
Can anybody help me to understand the
difference between AS and LIKE in terms of usage?
Thanks in advance.
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10 Sep 2011
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almaz
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That �s an interesting page, Oksana, but I �m not too sure that it fully answers the OP �s question. Although prepositional �as � and �like � are often interchangeable, the sentence "John is acting as the child �s guardian" is definitely not the same as "John is acting like the child �s guardian". There are also plenty of examples of the close relationship between conjunctive �like � and �as � ("He no longer ignores everyone �s advice like/as he used to") in Merriam-Webster �s usage dictionary (pages 600ff.). |
10 Sep 2011
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wilwarin32
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As + subject + verb Nobody cooks as my mum does. Like + noun He speaks like a native.
Regards!!! |
10 Sep 2011
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almaz
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@mariec
The advice given on your link seems to have been lifted wholesale from Murphy �s Grammar in Use (typically, the source isn �t acknowledged), but with an interesting omission: Murphy states that like + subject + verb is "also possible in informal spoken English" ( �I left everything like it was �). Michael Swan (Practical English Usage) also talks about its informal nature but Merriam-Webster - my preferred reference book when it comes to usage - shows quite clearly that conjunctive like "has never been less than standard, even if primarily spoken".
Ironically, the only major change that the English Club �expert � made was to replace Murphy �s statement with "we use as (not �like �) before a subject + verb". Idiotic prescriptions like this usually come from reading too much �Strunk & White �. It �s like they �ve never been gone... |
10 Sep 2011
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mariec
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Sorry, just trying to help. |
10 Sep 2011
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almaz
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There �s no need for you to apologize, mariec. I was talking about the plagiarist on that forum whose only �original � contribution turned out to be bilge.
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10 Sep 2011
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