Trash such as / like a plastic bottle
The visitors bring in trash like a plastic bottle.
VS.
The visitors bring in trash such as a plastic bottle.
I know the difference between ‘such as’ and ‘like’ and many people use them interchangeably by mistake.
I was wondering if ‘trash like a plastic bottle’ is possible or it should be ‘trash such as a plastic bottle’?
What so you native English speakers think? Thank you so much as usual in advance.
Top answer
Hans51 I was wondering if ‘trash like a plastic bottle’ is possible or it should be ‘trash such as a plastic bottle’? " "Like" is not ideal because you should only use that when the literal meaning works, and very little trash is like a plastic bottle. That said, many people would use "like" in casual speech because "such as" seems overly formal for trash.
- Hans51 I was wondering if ‘trash like a plastic bottle’ is possible or it should be ‘trash such as a plastic bottle’?
- " "Like" is not ideal because you should only use that when the literal meaning works, and very little trash is like a plastic bottle.
- That said, many people would use "like" in casual speech because "such as" seems overly formal for trash.
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Hans51I was wondering if ‘trash like a plastic bottle’ is possible or it should be ‘trash such as a plastic bottle’?
"Such as", but you need a comma in either case, and the switch from the non-count "trash" to the single "bottle" is jarring: "The visitors bring in trash, such as/like pl
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