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Welcome back to the Coffee Break English Show.
I'm Mark.
And I'm Josie.
In these weekly episodes, we're helping you to improve your English on your coffee break
with us.
That's right.
And you can subscribe to the podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts or if you're
watching the video version, then why not subscribe to our YouTube channel?
So Mark, what's our topic for today?
Today we have a really interesting topic.
We're looking at the difference between like and as.
That's right.
Shall we get started?
I think we should get started.
Okay, Josie, tell me in what way do we use the words like and as?
Well, this is what makes like and as quite difficult in English.
They can be used in lots of different ways.
So people often get them confused and mixed up.
First of all, we use both like and as to make comparisons, to compare to or more things.
Okay.
So she's like my mother, for example.
Exactly.
In this case, we're using like plus a noun.
So like my mother, my mother is the noun.
We could also say my shirt is like yours.
Coffee-break English shirts, yes?
Exactly.
They are similar.
Yeah.
What about with a verb of sensing, for example, when something smells like something else?
Exactly.
I could say my perfume smells like flowers.
Or for example, he looks like a famous actor.
Good.
So that means he is physically similar to a famous actor.
Okay.
So that's like plus a noun to compare to real things.
Give us another example of when we use like.
Well, we can also use like again to compare things.
But this time it's followed by a subject and a verb.
And this is when we compare something real to something not real or imaginary.
Okay.
Sounds a little complicated.
I think we need an example here.
Good idea.
For example, Mark, if you look really scared, I could say Mark, you look like you've seen
a ghost.
Okay.
If you look like you've seen a ghost, so there we're seeing like, then the subject you
and then the verb have seen a ghost.
Exactly.
And here we're comparing something real.
You looking in a certain way to something not real because you haven't really seen a ghost.
No.
Okay.
What about another example?
It's very warm in this studio today.
It is.
I can say it feels like it's 50 degrees in here.
Yeah, it feels like it's 50 degrees.
So there we've got like, then the subject, it is the verb 50 degrees.
It is very warm.
But we can also use another word in the sense.
We can.
We can also use as in this sense.
So it makes it a little confusing.
So to go back to our example, you look like you've seen a ghost.
I could also say you look as if you've seen a ghost.
So we need both as and if.
So as if replaces like.
That's right.
We can't say you look as you've seen a ghost.
It doesn't work.
Okay.
So either you look like you've seen a ghost or you look as if you've seen a ghost.
And the same would work for the temperature example.
That's right.
I can say it feels as if it's 50 degrees in here.
Yeah.
Okay.
Very warm.
What about another use of this for comparisons?
Yes.
We can also use as alone to compare things.
And we do this by saying as plus an adjective or an adverb.
Okay.
Plus as.
Great. So an example could be.
I could say I can run as fast as you.
So there we have as.
Then our adverb fast and then another as I can run as fast as you.
That's right.
Can you give us an example with an adjective?
Hmm.
I could say this pizza is as delicious as the pizza I ate in Italy.
Oh.
Okay.
And this pizza is as delicious as the pizza I ate in Italy.
And I think one important thing here is to remember that depending on your language,
this comparison may be different.
So you may not repeat a comparison word in there in your language.
But in English, we need to have as plus the adjective or adverb as.
Okay.
That's right.
We have two as is.
Okay.
So so far we've looked at comparisons where we are looking at like plus and down to compare
two real things.
We've looked at like plus a subject plus a verb to compare a real thing with an unreal
thing or an imaginary thing.
And there we can also use as if instead of like.
And then we also look to comparisons as adjective or adverb as something.
Exactly.
Let's move on from comparisons now because we can also use the words like and as to give
examples of things.
Okay.
Can you give us an example of this?
Yes, I can.
For example, I could say Mark, why don't you try a new hobby like tennis?
Okay, so the like there is introducing that example of tennis.
Why don't you try a new hobby like tennis?
Okay.
That's right.
In this case, I can also replace like with such as.
Okay.
So an alternative to like then such as.
So why don't you bring some snacks such as popcorn?
That's right.
So what about using such as or like plus a noun to give an example?
Okay.
Good stuff.
What about some other uses of like and as when we use one or the other of these words?
Yes.
We'll go through a few of these.
We use like to say that something or someone is part of a group that we are talking about.
For example, I could say lots of young people like my cousin go to university after they
finish school.
Okay.
So the like my cousin there is a little like giving an example.
You're mentioning someone in that group.
Lots of young people like my cousin go to university after they finish school.
We can also start the sentence with like.
I'm thinking like many cities Paris has a metro and underground.
That's right.
Exactly.
Okay.
So what about another we in which we can use like or as?
Well we use the word as and not like never like to describe the job or the function of
something.
So I could say he works as an architect.
Right, but you couldn't see he works like an architect.
No, if you said he works like an architect, you would be saying that the way he works
is similar to the way that an architect works.
Yeah, but he works as an architect.
We're actually explaining what he does.
He works as an architect.
Okay.
Yeah.
We can also use as to describe the function of something.
So I could say I didn't have a knife.
So I used my spoon as a knife.
Okay.
So you cut up things with your spoon because you didn't have a knife available.
Exactly.
That was the temporary function of my spoon.
So that's when we can only use as.
There's another idea, another situation when we can use as but not like that I'm thinking
of and that's when as is replacing because.
That's right.
I could say I didn't go to the beach at the weekend as the weather wasn't very good.
Oh, what a shame.
Yeah.
Or as I had a doctor's appointment, I arrived late to work.
That's right.
I can start with as so it can go at different points in your sentence.
That's right.
There's one other meaning of as that I'm thinking about and that is when it means like
quail or juring.
Yeah, we often use as to say that two things are happening at the same time.
So I could say she called her husband as she left work.
Okay.
So while she left work or during the time that she left work, when she left work even.
Exactly.
Okay.
Or it started raining as I got home.
All the disappointing weather.
Yeah.
It didn't get to the beach.
It started raining and so on.
I'm not very lucky at the moment.
Let's review what we've talked about today.
We've been looking at lake and as and the way in which lake and as can be used in different
situations.
So we've had comparisons.
We've had giving examples.
We've had including someone or something in a group.
We've had describing the job or the function of something or someone.
We've looked at as when it means because.
And we've looked at as when it means while or during.
Exactly.
And one other thing to mention in that is some languages and maybe your language is included
in this.
Don't have a word for like and a word for as in some languages is the same word.
So when it comes to English, it is important to recognize the difference between like and
as.
Exactly.
I really hope you've enjoyed this lesson.
Now, if you'd like to see the examples that we've included in this lesson and other information
about like and as all written down, then we have a blog post that you can use and the
link for that blog post is in the description of this episode.
And if you'd like more help with your English, you can sign up to our free regular
email lessons.
There are about lots of different topics to sign up.
Just visit coffeebreaklanguages.com slash English.
A fantastic idea.
Now, we'll be back next week, but in the meantime, look out for that next many lesson in your
inbox.
See you soon.
And happy coffee breaking.
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