Like vs As

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r_walid: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 43; Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 2:24 pm; Thanked: 1 times

Like vs As

by r_walid » Thu Oct 15, 2009 9:40 am

When do I use like and when do i use As??

I know that as should be used for clauses...but what is a clause exactly?

I got these examples from GMAT flashcards:
Lemons are like Limes.
He looks as if he is sick.

In the second example, where is the clause? is it "he looks" or is it "if he is sick" ?

Also, can i say: "He looks like he is sick"
Is this correct?
If yes, please compare with the latter example and tell me why both are right. IF this is wrong, please explain.

Quote

Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Thu Oct 15, 2009 9:40 am

cbenk121: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 202; Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2009 11:34 pm; Thanked: 15 times; GMAT Score:760

by cbenk121 » Sun Oct 18, 2009 3:58 pm

A clause has a subject and a verb. For example, "Bob runs track" contains the subject, "Bob", and the verb "to run". This is a clause.

So using your examples:

(1) Lemons are like Limes.

(2) He looks as if he is sick.

In the first example, you're comparing lemons to limes, a noun. In the second example, you're comparing how he currently looks to how he'd hypothetically look sick. Both underlined portions are clauses.

You may wonder why both portions are clauses (i.e. complete sentences). Technically, you could say "He looks." It's a gramatically correct sentence, but a very vague one, so a modifier is typically added (i.e. "He looks at the sky every night."). But that's another topic all together!

Continuing on...you can't say "He looks like he is sick." Again, you're comparing two clauses here, so you need to use "as".

The way I keep them straight, is to ask: Am I comparing two things directly, or what they're doing?

He runs like Bill. (Comparing he, whomever that may be, to BILL)

He runs as Bill does. (Comparing how he RUNS to how Bill RUNS).