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You are here: Home / Lessons / Expressing similarity

Expressing similarity

February 10, 2015 - pdf

We can use like or as to say that things are similar.

  • She is like her sister.
  • He is a doctor like his father.
  • Like his brother, he is a vegetarian.
  • You are dressed just like me.
  • He fought like a tiger.

Grammar notes

Like is a preposition. It is used before a noun or a pronoun which acts as its object.

Using as

As is a conjunction. It is used before a clause or an expression beginning with a preposition.

  • Nobody loves her as I do. (NOT Nobody loves her like I do.)
  • In 1939, as in 1914, everybody seemed to want war.
  • He fought as a tiger does.

Informal use of like

In informal English like is often used a conjunction instead of as. This is very common in American English.

  • Nobody loves her like I do.

Comparison with as and like after negatives

Note the word order in the following sentences.

  • I don’t sing, like Jane. (Jane sings, but I don’t.)
  • Like Jane, I don’t sing. (Jane doesn’t sing; neither do I.)
  • I am not a Catholic, like Mary. (Mary is a Catholic, but I am not.)
  • Like Mary, I am not a Catholic. (Mary is not a Catholic; nor am I.)
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