'such as' and 'like'

Question

’My mom is always asking me to do lots of jobs around the house
such as(like) mow the lawn and wash the dishes after dinner.’

A native speaker from Canada told me that I couldn't use 'mowing' and 'washing' in this sentence.
But I am wondering if 'such as' or 'like' is followed by a noun or a noun phrase,
I don't know why 'mowing' and 'washing' are wrong.

My another question is about the difference between 'such as' and 'like'.
What kind of sentences should I use 'such as' insteac of 'like' in?

Please tell me these things.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Hi Yoko,

There is no reason why you cannot use the gerund (-ing form) after 'such as' and 'like'. In fact, I prefer it to the infinitive, since we are speaking of 'jobs'.

'Such as' and 'like' are both used to preface examples, but 'such as' is more formal than 'like'.

('Like' suffers from multiple usage as a preposition, verb, and conjunction, so that its appearance always seems a little 'confusing' or 'thought-provoking' to thoughtful readers.)

Yoko · Answer

Hello Mister Micawber,
Thank you for replying.

Do I have to choose the verb forms that followed by 'such as' on the basis of the topics?

Mister Micawber · Answer

I can't think of any specific reason why the topic would influence your verb form choice, but perhaps there are exceptions-- if you find an example of which you are unsure, please post it for us.

Yoko · Answer

Hello Mister Micawber and everyone,

Here are sentences including 'such as'.
Would you please conjugate the following verbs which are enclosed in parentheses?

1.My mom is always asking me to do lots of jobs around the house, such as (mow) the lawn and (wash) the dishes after dinner.

2.My mom does lots of jobs around the house, such as (mow) the lawn and (wash) the dishes after dinner.

3.My mom did lots of jobs around the house, such as (mow) the lawn and (wash) the dishes after dinner.

4.My dog is learning a lot of different tricks such as

paws, (lie) his head down and so on.

5.He taught his dog the basic movements such as (sit), (head) down etc.

6.The teacher gave me a variety of assignments, such as (write) an essay, (keep) a diary, (paint) a picture.

7.Her actions were such as (offend) everyone.

8.His father warned him to stop his dreadful behaviors such as (shoplift), (extort) money from others, (drive) without a license.

9.He was accused of subversive activities such as (distribute) anti-Government literature.

Mister Micawber · Answer

Oh, yes-- I see now that there are cases when one or the other form must be used.  How about trying it yourself first, Yoko, and we'll check your answers?  It looks a little like homework to me.  (Hint: choice is often determined by the form of the verb phrases in the main clause.)

Yoko · Answer

Hello.

The sentences listed were composed by me except for the first one,
so these might have incorrect expressions....
I just forcus on 'such as' and conjugate the verbs.

1.My mom is always asking me to do lots of jobs around the house, such as (mow) the lawn and (wash) the dishes after dinner.

2.My mom does lots of jobs around the house, such as (mows) the lawn and (washes) the dishes after dinner.

3.My mom did lots of jobs around the house, such as (mowed) the lawn and (washed) the dishes after dinner.

4.My dog is learning a lot of different tricks such as (shaking) paws, (lying) his head down and so on.

5.He taught his dog the basic movements such as (sitting), (heading) down etc.

6.The teacher gave me a variety of assignments, such as (writing) an essay, (keeping) a diary, (painting) a picture.

7.Her actions were such as (offending) everyone.

8.His father warned him to stop his dreadful behaviors such as (shoplifting), (extorting) money from others, (driving) without a license.

9.He was accused of subversive activities such as (distributing) anti-Government literature.

To tell the truth, we've been taught that 'such as' is followed by nouns or noun phrases
(especially present participles) at schools in Japan.
So I have no idea how to reflect the verb phrases in the main clauses.....

Please check my answers and advise me on how to reflect the verb phrases in the main clauses.

Mister Micawber · Answer

We still have to stay with noun forms here, Yoko, either the (bare) infinitive or the gerund (-ing):

1.My mom is always asking me to do lots of jobs around the house, such as (mow) the lawn and (wash) the dishes after dinner.

Here I think that the infinitive, as you have used, which reflects the '(asking) to do' is the most common form-- nevertheless, if the speaker is thinking of 'jobs', s/he could as well use the noun form, '-ing'.

2.My mom does lots of jobs around the house, such as (X mows) the lawn and (X washes) the dishes after dinner.

Here again, for the same reason, the infinitive (mow, wash) would be used more often than the -ing form.

3.My mom did lots of jobs around the house, such as (X mowed) the lawn and (X washed) the dishes after dinner.

And the same comment here-- the tense of 'do' does not affect the usage: 'mow', 'wash'.

4.My dog is learning a lot of different tricks such as (shaking) paws, (laying) his head down and so on.

Here, 'is learning' causes the '-ing' form to be much preferable; indeed, it would be quite awkward to phrase it as 'is learning a lot of different tricks such as to shake paws'-- although it is not impossible, because of the highly collocated 'learn to do', I suppose.

5.He taught his dog the basic movements such as (sitting), (heading) down etc.

The '-ing' form is the only reasonable alternative again, as they are in parallel to the noun 'movements'.

6.The teacher gave me a variety of assignments, such as (writing) an essay, (keeping) a diary, (painting) a picture.

As with (5), 'assignments' would elicit the '-ing' form.

7.Her actions were such as (X offending) everyone.

THIS is a different usage of 'such. The 'offending' is not an example of her actions, it is a result. You have two choices here: 'Her actions were such as (those which) offended everyone' or 'Her actions were such as to offend everyone' (this latter is a formal alternative to 'her actions were such (shocking ones) that they offended everyone, where 'such' is a pronomial).

8.His father warned him to stop his dreadful behaviors such as (shoplifting), (extorting) money from others, (driving) without a license.

'Behaviors' definitely calls for the '-ing' noun form.

9.He was accused of subversive activities such as (distributing) anti-Government literature.

As with (8), 'activities' calls for the '-ing' form.

I have a feeling that stricter grammarians may beg to differ, but that is how I see it.

Yoko · Answer

Hello Mister Micawber,

Thank you for chaeking my answers and making comments on details!!

I need some time to understand the differences
whether I shoulld use verb root ,infinitive or present participle.
So I will learn 'such as' for the near future.

Blooms · Answer

Hello. It may be helpful to understand the word 'like' a little more then once you have grasped this is may be easier to know when to use 'like' and when to use 'such as'. This short blog post 10 common uses of the word like may be useful for you!

'such as' and 'like'

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