English Grammar: Comparing with LIKE & AS

Hi, welcome back to www.engvid.com . I'm Adam. Nice to be here again. Today, we're going

to look at comparisons. And the reason I want to do this, is because I've noticed that many

people make a very common mistake when they're talking about comparisons. So first, there

are two types of comparisons; two ways of comparing, okay?

And we're going to focus on one of them. We're going to focus on the difference between "like"

and "as". But I also want to look at this a little bit: "more than", or "____-er than", "as ______ as"

because I want to make sure that you understand that these are two different

ways of comparing, okay?

So when we use "more," and usually an adjective -- "more"+ adjective + "than", for example, "This

car is more expensive than that car", or "-er" - "This car is cheaper than that car." Or

"as ____ as" - "This car is as expensive as that car", okay?

What we are comparing with these ones, we're comparing qualities: speed, height, weight,

cost, shape, and so on. When we use "like" and "as", we are comparing things to things.

We are comparing actions to actions, okay?

The big thing, the big difference you have to pay attention to is, don't mix "than" with

"as" or "like", okay? And don't mix this "as _____ as", with this "as", okay? That's the main

thing we want to concentrate on.

So let's look at "like" and "as". What is the difference between these two? "Like" is

a preposition. It is always followed by a noun, okay? "The flower is blue like the sky",

okay? We're talking about comparing the two things.

"As" is always followed by a clause. "As" is a conjunction followed by a clause. If

you remember: what is a clause? Yes, it is a group of words that must include a subject

and a verb, okay? So "as", subject, and verb. "She treats me as I would like to be treated",

okay? We're talking about the treatment, how she treats me. How I want to be treated. Those

are the two things we're comparing, okay?

So before I give you some more examples, a very common expression in English.

I want you to tell me which is the correct one: "Do as I say, not as I do";

or "Do like I say, not like I do". Which of these is correct?

If you guessed the first one, you're right. Because it's "as" + subject + verb + a clause, okay?

But before I continue, I want to say one thing to you, and I hope this makes

you feel a little bit better about yourself. Native English speakers mix these two all the time.

So if you're studying grammar and you're listening to native English speakers, and you're trying

to understand the difference, and they use this one incorrectly many times, don't worry

about it. Many people use "like" when they should use "as" but they don't even realize

it. It is so common that it's becoming almost acceptable. It's wrong, but acceptable. Anyway,

we're going to look at a few more examples, and then you'll understand better the difference

between "like" and "as".

Okay, so here we have a few more examples to really show you how the differences work

between "like" and "as" and what you have to pay attention to. So first let's look at

these examples. "He looks like a Martian." What am I comparing here? What am I comparing?

I'm comparing "he" and "Martian" -- same look, right?

But I'm comparing two people and that's why I'm using "like", okay? "He speaks like a

preacher." If you're not really sure what a preacher is, a preacher stands in a church

and says, "Oh you should do this and you should do that, because..." well, probably God, but

hey, it's up to them.

"He speaks like a preacher." So he and the preacher are very similar. "He speaks as a

preacher does", so here remember, subject and verb. Are the sentences the same? Not

exactly. Here we're comparing him and a preacher. Here we're comparing speaking styles, the

way they speak, okay?

So because of the way he speaks, him and the preacher are very similar -- "like". But his

speaking, his action, and the preacher's action are very similar, okay? So because

he speaks as a preacher does, he is like the preacher. I hope that makes sense, good.

"She treats me like a dog." So before I said she treats me as I want to be treated, but

sometimes she treats me like a dog. So what am I comparing? I'm comparing me and the dog,

we're the same. We receive the same treatment from her.

Okay, now, a little bit more formal and sometimes you'll see this. Somebody says, "Oh, I like

it." And you want to agree. You want to compare your feeling: "as do I". So one thing you

have to be careful of, here the subject and the verb have switched order. You have the

verb first, the subject second. This is quite acceptable, very formal.

If you're not sure how to use it, especially in writing, don't use it. Somebody says, "Uh,

who came to the party?" "Well, Linda came, as did Tom and Jerry." The cat and the mouse,

I'm not sure if you know them.

But "as did Tom and Jerry" -- the verb came first, the subject came second -- very formal.

Otherwise, if you don't want to do it, "I like it." "I do, too." Easier, no "as".

Or, "He speaks as Kennedy used to." So we're talking about Kennedy's grandson. We saw him

give a speech to a large audience. We say "Wow, he speaks as his father used to", right?

It means in the same way, the same approach, the same aura, the same carriage.

Okay, so that's one thing. Now sometimes you might see "as if" or "as though". Basically,

it means you're comparing an unreal situation, right? "She is shopping as if there were no

tomorrow." So A; you have the "if" with the word, the subjunctive, that's a whole other

lesson. You can keep that in mind. But "as if there were no tomorrow": you have a full

clause after the "as if". So it's sort of like "like", but it's such an unreal situation,

and then we're talking about an action that we use "as if", okay?

Again, there's no real clause here, because of the inversion, but just remember it's an

unreal situation. But having said that, most native speakers will not say this. Most, or

I don't know if most, but many native speakers will say "She is shopping like there's no tomorrow."

What does it mean? Tomorrow everybody's going to die, so she wants to get as much things

today as she can. It's a very common expression. Most people understand this expression as

"like". "Like" is incorrect, but acceptable.

One last thing I want to mention. A whole different use of "as" and "like". "As your

boss" -- because I want you to understand this, so there's no confusion -- "as" here

means "in the position of". So here "as" is not a comparison. It is a preposition telling

you "I'm in this position".

So "as your boss" -- I am your boss, I have the power to forbid you from using Facebook

at work. But if you say "like your boss", then you're comparing. Then you're showing

a similarity, "like" your boss. So your boss thinks this. I agree, I think so to. So "Like

your boss, I forbid you from using Facebook at work." Maybe I'm the assistant boss. He's

the president, I'm the vice president. "Like him", means I agree with him, we are similar.

"...you can't use Facebook at work." And if you do use Facebook at work, be careful -- a

lot of bosses think like this.

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