B2 Grammar: As and like

As and like

As

Use as:

·    to say someone or something is that thing, or has that function: He works as a nurse. She uses email as a way of keeping in touch with her friends. Can I give you some advice as a friend?

·    before a subject + verb: Things happened exactly as I had predicted (in the way I predicted).

·    to mean because: As Mum is away, I’m going to cook lunch today.

·    after certain verbs including describe as, consider as, regard as: The teachers regard you as the best group of students in the school. The police are describing him as extremely dangerous.

·    with adjectives and adverbs to make comparisons: Mike is not as clever as his sister.

·    to mean for example in the phrase such as: I spent the summer travelling round Europe and visiting lots of places such as Venice, Florence and Barcelona.

·    with same…as: You’re wearing the same colour shirt as me!

·    in these phrases:

o as far as I know (I think it’s true but I don’t know all the facts): As far as I know, Woody Allen has never won an Oscar.

o as far as I’m concerned (this is my personal opinion): I don’t mind how much money you spend on clothes – you can spend all your money on clothes as far as I’m concerned.

o as far as I can see/tell (this is what I’ve noticed or understood): Arsenal aren’t going to win the cup this year as far as I can see.

Like

Use like:

·    to mean similar to (especially with look, sound, smell, seem, taste, etc.): My boyfriend looks just like Brad Pitt! This swimming pool is fantastic – the artificial waves mean it’s like swimming in the sea.

·  to mean for example: He enjoys all sorts of adventure sports like paragliding, windsurfing and canoeing.

Look, seem and appear

You can use these verbs to express your impressions of something or someone: I haven’t talked to him very much, but he seems very intelligent. You still look tired even if you have slept all night.

These verbs can be used with the following patterns:

·    look / seem / appear + adjective: She looks very old. He seems hungry. Marga appeared tired.

·    subject + look + as if + sentence: The car looks as if it needs washing. You look as if you’ve had a bad day.

·    it looks / seems + as if + sentence: It looks as if the car needs washing. It seems s if you’ve had a bad day.

·    seem / appear + infinitive: The weather seems to have changed. She appeared to be crying.

·    look / seem + like + noun: He looks like my uncle. It may seem like an impossible task, but it isn’t really.