When do I use like and when do I use as?

Use like before a noun, pronoun, or -ing form to say two things resemble each other: He swims like a fish. Use as before a noun to name a role or function (She works as a midwife) and before a clause to match two actions (Do it as we practised). If a full clause is coming, as or as if is the careful choice.

Is it work as or work like?

Work as names the job: She works as a midwife. Work like compares manner: She works like a machine. If the person holds the post, as is required. The same split applies to serve as, act as, and use as.

Why is Do it like I showed you considered informal?

Because like is a preposition in careful English and wants a noun, not a clause. As I showed you supplies the clause that manner needs. The like-clause is widespread in conversation and in some fiction; it remains the form that exams and formal editors prefer to change.

What is the difference between as a child and like a child?

As a child means when I was a child, a real stage of life: As a child I lived in York. Like a child means in the manner of a child, often said of an adult: He cried like a child. Mixing them assigns a life stage and a resemblance at the same time, which is rarely what you mean.

Can I say It looks like it's going to rain?

Yes in speech, and many writers use it. The careful equivalent is It looks as if it is going to rain, or It looks as though it might rain. Look like still takes a noun without any debate: It looks like rain. The debate starts only when a clause follows like.

English grammar · Intermediate

Like vs. As: Preposition, Conjunction, Jobs, and Comparisons

Written by Eleanor Whitfield, Lead English Curriculum Editor · Reviewed September 2026

Like and as both introduce comparisons, but they belong to different word classes. Like is a preposition and is followed by a noun, pronoun, or -ing form: He swims like a fish. As is a conjunction when it introduces a clause (Do it as we practised) and a preposition when it names a role or function (She works as a midwife). Mix the two and you change the meaning: like a coach compares manner; as a coach names the job.

He swims like a fish, but as a coach he is surprisingly patient.

like plus a noun for similarity; as plus a noun for a role

What it is

The choice between like and as is a choice about what follows, and about what kind of comparison you are making. Like takes a noun phrase and says the subject resembles that thing: He swims like a fish (his swimming resembles a fish's). As takes a clause and says two actions match (Do it as we practised), or it takes a noun and names the role in which someone acts (She works as a midwife). Look, sound, feel, smell, and taste, when they are linking verbs, pair with like (You look like your father). Work, serve, act, and use pair with as for function (She works as a midwife; we used the crate as a table).

He swims like a fish. (similarity of manner, plus a noun). Do it as we practised. (same way, plus a clause). She works as a midwife. (role, plus a noun).

How to spot it

Look at the next word. A noun, pronoun, or -ing form after a comparison of resemblance wants like. A full clause (subject plus verb) wants as. A noun that names a job, use, or official role wants as, not like.

He swims like a fish. (like plus noun: resemblance)
Do it as we practised. (as plus clause: in the way that)
She works as a midwife. (as plus a role)
You look like your father. (look like: appearance, not employment)

In informal speech, like often introduces a clause (It looks like it's going to snow). Careful writing still prefers as if or as though for that job, or as where a manner clause is meant.

Like vs. As Quick Reference

Like versus as by what follows and what you mean

Meaning	Word	Pattern
Resemblance	like	like + noun / pronoun / -ing: swims like a fish
Role or function	as	as + noun: works as a midwife; used as a table
Manner clause	as	as + clause: do it as we practised
Appearance, sound, feel	like	look / sound / feel / smell / taste like
While in that role, at that age	as	as a child; as a trainee; as chair of the board
In the manner of, without being	like	like a child (he cried like a child)
Hypothetical comparison	as if / as though	as if + clause: it looks as if it might snow
Examples from a set	such as (or like)	cities such as Lisbon and Porto

Common Like vs. As Examples in English

Like and as grouped by the comparison you are making, because resemblance, role, and manner each pick a different structure:

Saying Two Things Resemble Each Other

He swims like a fish.: like plus noun: manner by resemblance
This bread tastes like the loaves my grandmother made.: taste like plus a noun phrase
Stop talking like a politician.: like plus noun: in that manner, without holding the office
It was like talking to a wall.: like plus -ing: the experience resembled that activity

If you can replace like with similar to, you are in the right pattern. Similar to a fish works as a test even when it would sound clumsy in the real sentence.

Naming a Job, Use, or Official Role

She works as a midwife.: as names the job
We used the crate as a table.: as names the function
As chair of the board, she signed the letter.: as plus a title: in that capacity
He served as an interpreter during the visit.: serve as: a temporary role

If you can replace as with in the role of or in the capacity of, as is the word you want. Like a midwife would mean resembling one, not holding the post.

Matching One Action to Another

Do it as we practised.: as plus a clause: in the way that
Leave everything as you found it.: as plus clause: in the same state
As I was saying before we were interrupted, the date has moved.: as plus clause: while, or in the way already begun
The town is not as quiet as it used to be.: as…as comparison of degree, with a clause after the second as

A clause after the comparison word is the strongest signal for as. Like we practised is common in speech and still marked as informal in careful writing.

Describing How Someone Seems

You look like your father.: look like: appearance
It sounds like a good plan.: sound like plus a noun
It looks as if it might snow.: as if plus a clause: a hypothetical appearance
She felt as though she had been here before.: as though plus a clause: an unreal comparison

Look like, sound like, and feel like take a noun. Look as if and look as though take a clause. It looks like it's going to snow is the informal spoken blend.

How Like and As Work

Preposition versus conjunction is the structural split. Role versus resemblance is the meaning split. They do not always line up, which is why as a child and like a child both exist.

Like Takes a Noun; As Often Takes a Clause

As a preposition of resemblance, like must be followed by a noun phrase, a pronoun, or an -ing form: like a fish, like him, like talking to a wall. As as a conjunction is followed by a clause with a subject and a verb: as we practised, as you found it. If a verb with its own subject is coming, as is the careful choice.

He swims like a fish. Do it as we practised.

noun after like; clause after as

Noun after like. Clause after as.

As Plus a Noun Names a Role; Like Plus a Noun Names a Resemblance

She works as a midwife means that is her job. She works like a midwife would mean she works in the manner of one, and would be odd if she actually is one. The same split explains as a child (when I was one) versus like a child (in the manner of one, often of an adult). Ask whether the person or thing actually occupies that category, or only resembles it.

As a trainee, I sat at the back. He cried like a child.

real role versus manner of resemblance

As = in that role. Like = resembling that thing.

Linking Verbs of the Senses Take Like

Look, sound, feel, smell, and taste, when they describe the subject rather than an action, are followed by like plus a noun, or by as if / as though plus a clause: You look like your father. It looks as if it might snow. Work, serve, act, and use take as for function. Mixing the two produces You look as your father and She works like a midwife in the job sense, both of which miss the intended meaning.

You look like your father. She works as a midwife.

appearance with like; employment with as

Look like. Work as.

As…As Compares Degree, Not Resemblance

The pair as…as (as quiet as, as soon as, as much as) is a degree construction and is not interchangeable with like. The second as can be followed by a noun or a clause: as quiet as the archive, as quiet as it used to be. Like cannot fill either slot: not like quiet as, and not as quiet like.

The town is not as quiet as it used to be.

as plus adjective plus as plus clause

Degree uses as…as, never like…as.

Common Mistakes with Like vs. As

Incorrect: She works like a midwife. (meaning that is her job)

Correct: She works as a midwife.

Like plus a job title describes manner of resemblance, not employment. As plus the title names the role. The same repair applies to serve, act, and use: used as a table, not used like a table, when you mean function.

Incorrect: Do it like we practised.

Correct: Do it as we practised.

A clause of manner takes as in careful English. Like we practised is common in speech, so you will hear it, but it is the form that still draws correction in exams and edited prose.

Incorrect: You look as your father.

Correct: You look like your father.

Look, sound, and feel in their linking-verb sense take like plus a noun of resemblance. As would need a clause (You look as if you have seen a ghost) or a role that does not fit here.

Incorrect: As a child, he cried like he was lost, every night, when he was forty.

Correct: He cried like a child. / As a child, he cried easily.

As a child and like a child are both grammatical and mean different things. Mixing them in one idea (an adult crying, described as a life stage) produces a contradiction. Pick role (as) or manner (like), not both for the same fact.

As If, Such As, and Informal Like as a Conjunction

Three patterns that sit on the edge of the like/as pair and that learners meet as soon as they leave the basic contrast.

As if and as though

Both introduce a comparison that may be hypothetical or unreal. A clause follows. The verb after them is often past even for a present meaning, the same way a second conditional is past: He talks as if he knew the answer (he may not). As though is a little more formal than as if; they are otherwise interchangeable.

It looks as if it might snow.: a present appearance, hypothetical
She felt as though she had been here before.: an unreal or hard-to-place feeling
He talks as if he owned the place.: past verb for a present pretence

Like as if is a spoken blend (It looks like as if…). Drop one of them: like plus a noun, or as if plus a clause.

Such as, and like as a conjunction

To introduce examples, such as is the careful written form: cities such as Lisbon and Porto. Like is common in the same job in speech and informal prose. To introduce a clause of manner, like is informal (Do it like I showed you); as is the standard written form (Do it as I showed you).

Avoid crowded hubs such as the central station at dusk.: such as plus examples
Avoid crowded hubs like the central station at dusk.: like plus examples: informal but widespread
Do it as I showed you.: manner clause in careful English

As such means in that capacity (She is the chair, and as such she signed it), which is a different pattern from such as.

Quick Check: Like vs. As

Choose like, as, as if, or as…as for each gap.

1. He swims ___ a fish.

Answer: like

resemblance plus a noun

2. She works ___ a midwife at the clinic on the quay.

Answer: as

role: that is her job

3. Do it ___ we practised on Tuesday.

Answer: as

manner plus a clause

4. You look ___ your father around the eyes.