How to use 'LIKE' in English (Just Like A Native Speaker!)

Well hey there! I'm Emma from mmmEnglish

and I have an extremely useful lesson for you today.

I'm going to teach you all the different ways that native English

speakers use like in everyday conversations

and if you're thinking about using like as a verb,

well that's one way

but I've got five extra ways that you can use like to help you

sound more natural and more fluent

as you're speaking in English.

So like, let's get into the lesson!

Like is often used as an adjective

and when it is, it means the same as similar,

to be like,

to look like,

to feel like,

to taste like

or to smell like.

This dish looks like it's savoury but it smells like dessert.

In this context, we're using like as an adjective

to compare two things.

It's five degrees today but it feels like minus five.

Feels similar to minus five degrees

but it's not actually minus five.

Watch out for this one though

because there are a couple of different meanings for feel like.

Feel like can mean want.

I feel like an ice cream.

No, I mean an ice cream, I want an ice cream.

I want to eat an ice cream because it's hot.

And feel like can also mean think.

I feel like this is a bad idea.

So another way to say that is to say

I think this is a bad idea.

I've got a feeling.

I feel like this is a bad idea.

Like can be an adverb as well and using like

as an adverb is going to help you to sound

super natural when you speak.

It's really commonly used by native speakers

in informal situations.

So as an adverb, like is a synonym for about,

around or approximately.

I spoke to her like ten minutes ago.

So here the meaning of like is about.

I spoke to her about ten minutes ago.

He spent like a month in Colorado.

He spent approximately a month in Colorado

or around a month.

Notice that like is always used before an amount

when it's an adverb like ten minutes or one month.

And it's not just time, it can be used before any number.

It only costs like twenty bucks.

There are like ten left in the jar.

Do you feel like your English-speaking skills

are holding you back?

Others aren't really seeing you for who you really are?

Anytime I have to talk with natives I was just

so unconfident because I was afraid of making mistakes

all the time.

Most of the time I read in English

and I understand, I watch the videos with the subtitles

but in that moment to speak

I felt afraid,

I felt shame.

It's time to break free from those negative feelings

and find your English voice with Hey Lady!

We understand the challenges that women face

on their English journey and that's why we're growing

a supportive community of women who are working towards

the same goal:

Speaking English with confidence and ease.

From when I joined to today is that chance

to talk with people without fear of judgment.

When we see each other, we're so happy and we

have the opportunity to get to know new people all the time,

I mean it's really amazing for me, it's really

like a dream come true, actually.

Join Hey Lady! today and start living your best life in English.

To find out more and get access to a free

Conversation Pack

look for the link down in the description below.

We also use like as a linking word.

So linking words help to connect ideas in sentences

in both written and spoken English:

and,

because,

as a result,

they're all linking words

and they're really useful in English sentences.

And like can be a linking word, as well.

My nephews love playing on toys with wheels

like scooters, bikes and skateboards.

I love old-fashioned names like Arthur and Iris.

So in this context, like means for example or for instance.

Just keep it in mind that like is commonly used

in informal spoken English.

In a more formal context or when you're writing,

it's much better to use for example or for instance

but in spoken informal English,

like,

very casual, very natural.

Now this is where the fun begins.

We're going to talk about some of the newer ways

to use like.

Some people out there, they might argue or they might

disagree with me about what I'm about to say

or what I'm about to teach.

They might say that like is not

proper English when it's used in this way,

in the way that I'm about to teach you

but if a significant number of English speakers

around the world are using the language in this way

in their everyday conversations then

I think that it is worth learning about

and it is worth understanding.

And can you really say that something is not proper English

when so many people around the world are using it this way?

I don't think so.

We can use like to retell stories and to report

what someone else has said

and when it's used in this way it's called

the quotative like because we're quoting what someone else

said or what someone else felt or implied.

My boss was like, "I need the report in an hour".

And I was like,

"Are you kidding me? That's not enough time!"

When I say "My boss was like..."

or "I was like"

it's really similar to saying she said or I said

in reported speech, really similar

but not quite the same.

When used in this way, like is less precise

than reported speech but it's also much more expressive

because I would never say

"Are you kidding me?" to my boss.

I would never actually say that.

But I would think it or maybe I wish that I had said it

at the time and it makes for a much better story

when you're retelling it to someone else.

When we use like instead of say or tell or ask

we can retell not only what someone else said

but also what they were thinking or they were

feeling at the time so it's

quite useful and it makes for really great storytelling.

The things that you didn't actually say

but maybe you wish you had

or a feeling that you had

at the time when something happened,

these can all be expressed with like in this way

and we can even use like to reenact facial expressions

and gestures and that's why it can be so expressive

and such a great and useful tool when you're retelling stories.

So for example, if I'm retelling a story

I might say something like:

My neighbour was telling me how someone keeps stealing

all the lemons off their tree

and then Shah walked over

with a couple of lemons in his hand and he was like,

"Hey, check out these lemons!"

and I was like...

So this quotative like is only really used in casual,

spoken English so make sure if you're writing someone else's

words or you're telling a story in written English

you stick with the regular reporting verbs

and reported speech.

Remember I recently made a lesson about reported speech.

You can watch it right up there.

Last but not least,

we can use like as a filler word and a filler word

or it's also called a discourse marker,

they're used to connect or to organise our thoughts

or even to express a certain attitude while we're speaking.

They allow us to think about what we want to say next

without interrupting or disrupting the flow

of conversation so they're really useful.

They help our speech to sound more natural and less robotic

and they also help other people who are listening

to you in a conversation

know that you haven't finished talking yet,

that you're still going.

Filler words like just,

actually and even um,

they're useful and of course like, as well. They're all filler words

and even though it's best to avoid filler words if you can,

they're also extremely useful in conversations to help you

hold your thought while you think about what to say next.

Umm.. It's like if you have to do work

or like do housework and clean your room.

It's like stuff like that.

I'm saying like quite a lot there because I'm

trying to think about what I want to say next.

And using like as a filler word can be really fun

especially if you try and copy a bit of the intonation of

some of the more famous examples

of like being used in this way.

If you've ever seen the movie Clueless you'll know exactly

what I'm talking about. It's one of my favourite movies.

I said RSVP because it was a sit-down dinner

but people came that like did not RSVP

so I was like totally buggin'.

We just heard like as a filler word.

People came that like, didn't RSVP.

Now the sentence would make perfect sense without

the word like in it

but she's using like

as a way of adding dramatic pause or it exaggerates

the information that's following.

It's like if I said

Clueless is like, my all-time favourite movie.

Like just helps me to illustrate how much I love it.

It flows and it sounds really natural,

it's definitely not perfect English and it's not needed in any way

but it's very much a part of naturally spoken English.

What are you gonna do about it?

Now adding a few likes to your spoken English

is going to help you to sound more confident and more fluent

in English so make sure you're listening out

for the way that native English speakers use like

as they speak and start thinking about

how it's being used, what type of word is it,

what function does it have in that sentence?

And see if you can start using like in

some of these different ways,

play around with it a little bit, have some fun.

I hope you liked the lesson.

Don't forget to like it and subscribe to the channel.

I will see you again next week with another lesson.

Bye for now!