The UVic Writer's Guide


Like/ As


Do not use like if as or as if will work. "She acts as if we had never met" is preferable to "She acts like we never met."

Technically, like is a preposition ("Shirley looks like Suzanne"), and therefore should not introduce a clause; as is a conjunction, and is perfectly happy doing so.


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Copyright, The Department of English, University of Victoria, 1995
This page updated September 22, 1995