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Grammarian-bot Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

Is "Like" unacceptable as conjunction.

0 We frequently use like as a conjunction in speech but grammatically it is unacceptable and "as" and "as if" should be used. 01blockquote
01i10He ran as if12i10 (not 11i10like12i10) 11i10his life depended on it12i12br
12blockquote
10Is this rule strictly followd in 01b00formal english02b00.02br
00GB0-
  

Top answer

0 01blockquote 01cite 10Grammarian-bot12cite 10We frequently use like as a conjunction in speech but grammatically it is unacceptable and "as" and "as if" should be used. 12br 10GB11blockquote 12br 22br 20He ran 21b 20as if22b 20 his life depended on it. (BrE)22br 22br 20He ran 21b 20like22b 20 his life depended on it.

— Yoong Liat

  • 0 01blockquote 01cite 10Grammarian-bot12cite 10We frequently use like as a conjunction in speech but grammatically it is unacceptable and "as" and "as if" should be used.
  • 12br 10GB11blockquote 12br 22br 20He ran 21b 20as if22b 20 his life depended on it.
  • (BrE)22br 22br 20He ran 21b 20like22b 20 his life depended on it.
  • (AmE)22br 22br 20It looks 21b 20as if22b 20 it's going to rain.
  • (BrE)22br 22br 20It looks 21b 20like22b 20 it's going to rain.
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12 Answers
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Grammarian-bot12cite10We frequently use like as a conjunction in speech but grammatically it is unacceptable and "as" and "as if" should be used. 11blockquote
11i20He ran as if22i20 (not 21i20like22i20) 21i20his life depended on it22i22br
22
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Yoong Liat12cite10 He ran 11b10as if12b10 his life depended on it. (BrE) 12br
10 He ran 11b10like12b10 his life depended on it. (AmE)11blockquote
10 22blockquote
22blockquote
10I don't think the above is true for t
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0Oxford University Google Search 05002br
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05500> 05600> Search Results02br
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01table01tr01td01td
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0 I was talking about the AmE. 0-
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0 Well guys actually I found this in American Heritage Book of English. It says that Like should be avoided as a conjunction. But I was doubtful since it's being used so frequently. Following is the article from American Heritage.02br
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01table01tr01td
01i00Tell it li
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0 Do you have a link? If so, pls post it with the quotation. 02br
02br
02br
00 The above is known for quite a while. 02br
02br
00 However, it currently goes against a powerful tendency, of teens using "like" everywhere, including as verbs:02br
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01i00I was, like, (=I said ...)02br
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0 01blockquote
02br
12br
10Hi 11b11font10Grammarian-bot12font12b12br
12br
11font11b10What is written in '12b12font10American Heritage Book of English' is different from what I've read in the 11b10British English12b
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Marius Hancu12cite10Do you have a link? If so, pls post it with the quotation. 12br
10 The above is known for quite a while. 12br
12br
10However, it currently goes against a powerful tendency, of teens using "like" everywhere, including as verbs:12br
12br
11i10I was, l
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0I think we use 'like' just as much as the US in real life, even though perhaps our grammar books don't like it!02br
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00The 'as if your life depended on it' is not a good example as this is an idiom, so it tends to keep to this original form.02br
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00With the other example, it looks as if/like it is going to rain, I hear people say it both ways abou
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0 I think that this structure is currently undergoing some changes in AmE. Many speakers here are very conflicted about how to express it -- so conflicted, in fact, that I have even heard 01i00like as if02i00 and01i00 like as if that02i00 !02br
02br
01i00It looks like as if that it's going to rain!02i02br
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