Look at these examples to see how as and like are used.
I worked as an actor for two years.
I went home early as I felt ill.
He looks as if he hasn't slept.
As you know, this is the third time I've had to complain.
He looks like his dad.
She's like a sister to me.
Try to do something relaxing, like reading a book or having a bath.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
as and like are often confused since they can both be used for comparisons. There are, however, important differences.
Making comparisons
as + adjective + as and as much as
We often use the structure as + adjective + as or as much as to say if something has, or doesn't have, the same amount of that quality as something else.
She loves curry as much as I do.
He's not as tall as his brother.
It's not as expensive as the other hotel.
That dog is as big as that child!
You also have to use as in the expression the same as.
Your phone is the same as mine.
Texting is not the same as speaking in person.
like + noun
In the following comparisons, like is followed by a noun or a pronoun to say that two things are similar.
He's like a father to me.
She's acting like a child.
It's like a burger but with big mushrooms instead of bread.
There are lots of people like us.
It is also common to make comparisons using like with verbs of the senses.
She looks like her mother.
It sounds like a cat.
Nothing tastes like homemade lemonade.
It smells like medicine.
It feels like cotton.
as if/as though + clause
As if and as though can be used to compare a real situation to an imaginary situation. They are followed by a clause (a subject and verb).
You look as if you've seen a ghost.
I felt as if I was floating above the ground.
You talk as though we're never going to see each other again.
Giving examples
We can say like or such as to give examples.
You could try a team sport like football, basketball or hockey.
You should take something soft, such as a towel, to lie on.
Talking about a job or function
We can use as + noun to talk about a job or function.
I worked as a shop assistant for two years.
He used his coat as a blanket to keep warm.
as to connect two phrases
as can be used as a conjunction to connect two phrases. It can have different meanings.
as = 'because'
All the tickets were sold out as we got there too late.
As the road was closed, I had to park on the next street.
as = 'while' or 'during the time that'
She called as I was getting out of the bath.
As they were arriving, we were leaving.
as = 'in the way that'
As we expected, it started to rain.
As you know, classes restart on 15 January.
As I said, I think this project will be a challenge.
** Note that in informal speech, people sometimes say like for 'in the way that'.
Like I said, I didn't know her.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hello MarciaBT,
The first example does not make sense. It may be that the missing part of the sentence helps, but as it is quoted it is not grammatical.
In the second sentence you could replace 'but so too was his' with 'as was his' (without 'but').
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Mr.hanymabrok,
Yes, you can write both of these sentences with 'as if', and you can also write both of them with 'as though'.
'as if' (and even 'like') are more common in informal speaking nowadays, and 'as though' is a bit formal. But they all mean the same thing.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi IsabelTim_123,
Yes! All your suggestions work. It's good to be aware of various ways we can phrase things :)
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi IsabelTim_123,
Yes, that's right. The meanings are the same, but the versions with so are more emphatic about the relatedness of the two events.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi LubNko525,
1. The present tense is fine here. When we use 'as' with the meaning of 'when' (as in this example), the present tense is normal
2. 'While' is the most likely choice here as the action takes place during a longer period. 'When' is also possible. 'As' would have a different meaning. It would mean 'because' in this context.
3. Again, here 'as' would have the meaning 'because'. 'While' is fine.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi nicolettalee,
In your first example, 'much' is used because you are not asking about the noun 'economy' but about the verb 'shrank'. In other words, you are asking about the degree of the action (an adverb), not the size of the noun (an adjective).
In your second question, 'little' describes the amount of money. When we talk about the cost of something we always ask 'How much...', even if the answer is in dollars, pounds, euros etc.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi giangphan,
In this sentence like is functioning as a conjunction. It often follows verbs like feel, look, smell etc.
Like is one of the most flexible words in English. You can read more about its uses on these pages:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like#Uses
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/like
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello AsahiYo20,
All of those are possible and the meaning does not change. It's really a question of style and preference here.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi IsabelTim_123,
I'll try to answer your questions in turn.
Does that make sense?
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Kashvi.la27,
You can use when, while and as in these sentences, but they mean slightly different things.
While might be the best option in all three sentences. In sentence 1, I imagine 'having dessert' as a quick action, and 'watching TV' as a longer action. While shows that the action had duration, and you can use it to show that one action happened in the middle of the other (having dessert happened in the middle of watching TV). The same goes for sentence 3 – 'we were out' is a longer action, and 'someone broke in' happened in the middle of it.
In sentence 2, I also prefer while because an iron will stay hot for quite a long time. But importantly, Strike while the iron is hot is an idiomatic phrase, so we can't change its wording much.
Does that make sense?
Best wishes,
Jonathan
Hi cms10,
Yes! Using while we were watching makes the longer duration of the activity clear. The past continuous is often used with while.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi cms10,
Yes! Both are grammatically correct. But, the past continuous is often used with while and it would be the more common tense to use. No, there's no other difference in meaning.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi PabloTT,
Yes! In the first sentence, while emphasises the duration of walking around the cathedral. In the second sentence, when means the same as as.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello MarciaBT,
Regarding your first question, we usually use 'while' to speak about two simultaneous long actions or situations. There is no strict definition of 'long', but in this case, the arrival of the coach is more of a point in time than a long action, so it would be odd to use 'while'. I would use 'as' here.
The second sentence sounds slightly odd to me because we usually speak about the feature of something, though I wouldn't say it's wrong. Personally, I'd say something like 'Self-deprecation is a recurring feature of Stevenson's talks.' I suppose you could say 'when' (though the sentence would sound equally as strange as the one you ask about due to 'feature of'), but 'while' would be even stranger for the same reason I mentioned above.
'while' would be the best option for the third sentence, for the same reason just mentioned.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello MarciaBT,
If it were me, I'd choose 'as', but yes, you could use 'while' there.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Najmiii3579,
The first sentence is not really well-formed in my opinion, but yes, you could delete 'as' and it would mean much the same thing. This is not always possible, though. Here it works because it would be understood as a reduced relative clause ('modifications that were set out').
Without 'as', the second sentence would not be correct.
The explanation on this page doesn't fully cover all the uses of 'as'. You might find it useful to have a look at this page.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Sunyoung1005,
Thanks for your kind comment :)
Yes, all three sentences work with both as and when. Both words show actions happening at the same time.
There's a small difference: when can also show actions happening one after the other (i.e. not at the same time). So, if one action caused the other one to happen, when is a good choice, and I slightly prefer when in sentences 1 and 2. But, we can also think of those actions as happening at the same time, so as is fine too.
In sentence 3, using while suggests that signing the contract had some duration (i.e. it took some time).
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
No worries. All three words (while, when, as) are grammatically correct in sentence 3. I don't think we can say which one is best – it just depends on how you want to represent the situation.
While shows that the action had duration, as you say. You can use this if you want to show clearly that one action happened in the middle of the other (noticing the missing page happened in the middle of signing).
If you just want to show that the two actions (signing and noticing the missing page) happened at the same time, as and when both work.
So, there's a small difference in meaning! But I guess that in most situations, this difference would not be important.
I hope that helps.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi cms10,
1. It's hard to be sure without knowing the context of the sentence. However, I would guess that the speaker is referring to a time before they tried whatever it is they are talking about. Thus you have three time references:
> now - it is exciting
> past - I started the activity
> further past - before I started the activity
2. No, that does not work. If you want to use the active form (intended) rather than the passive (was intended) then you need to be consistent and use an active verb following it (to spend not to be spent). You also need to include the subject:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Kashvi.la27,
In this context 'as' means something like 'in the way'. Thus, 'listed below' tells us simply that the books are below the text. 'As listed below' would suggest a method or way of doing something. In the context of listing books for reference I don't think the difference is really important, but it would be important if, for example, the sequence were crucial for some reason.
As a time marker, 'as' tells us that one event occured simultaneously with another event; this would include one event occuring while another event is in progress. 'When' suggests that either the two events started together, or
Replacing as with when changes the sentence somewhat. As tells us that she felt pride during the process of his accepting the award. When tells us that the event of his accepting caused her to feel pride. It doesn't tell us that she felt pride during the event (though she may have).
Again, as here tells that the improvement takes place during the increase. Data traffic may increase every day and the improvement will keep pace with this. When would tell us that we expect an increase in data traffic at some point and the capacity will improve at this moment.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello again Kashvi.la27,
It seems the second half of the sentence was deleted by mistake. The full sentence was this:
Ordinarily, when would emphasise the possibility of a causal relationship, as you say. However, the particular context of your example makes the causality self-evident already. Given this, the choice is really whether you want to emphasise that the pride was felt during the receiving of the award or as a result of the receiving. The first (with as) suggests that the whole process - the ceremony etc - creates the woman's pride. The second (with when) suggests that it is the achievement - the actual award itself - which creates the woman's pride.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Kashvl.la27,
In (1), 'as' means 'in the way that someone says or that something happens, or in the condition something is in' (see entry 2.2 in the Longman dictionary). 'while' would not be correct here; 'when' would be possible and would have a similar meaning.
In (2) you could indeed say 'before' instead of 'as'. Although some might argue that 'before' and 'as' have different meanings here (the first being before you leave, the second being while you leave), but for most situations you could say both of these to achieve the same result.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Kashvi.la27,
You could say 'when', but 'while' would not be correct.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team