Steve Jobs

English grammar through stories

LIKE & AS

Many English learners get in trouble when it comes to like and as. “Hmm… she is as my mother, or she is like my mother…” Which option is correct and why? Many of you always get frustrated and start googling the right option, or at worst, you change the sentence to avoid this problem until the next time you come across it again.

It’s high time to stop avoiding this problem and face it! I prepared for you a short story about Steve Jobs that contains as many LIKES and ASES as you need to grasp this grammar entirely.

Let’s get started!

Steven Paul Jobs was an American inventor, designer, and entrepreneur who co-founded Apple Computers with Steve Wozniak. Apple’s products like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad have been dictating modern technology’s evolution.

When it comes to his early childhood, unnamed Jobs was put for adoption as soon as he was born. His biological father worked as a political science professor, and his mother worked as a speech therapist. Later on, as a baby, Jobs was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs, who named him Steven Paul Jobs. His adoptive mother worked as an accountant, and his dad was a Coast Guard veteran and machinist. The family lived together in California, in an area that is now known as Silicon Valley.

As a teen, Jobs was a prankster at school because he was often bored. There were many imps in the class like him, so the teachers never got bored at work. Despite the fact he did not want to study and sometimes behaved like a naughty child, he had brains. After high school, he enrolled in a college. As he lacked direction, he dropped out of college and dropped in on creative classes. He also worked as a video game designer.

Later on, when Jobs was enrolled at Homestead High School, he met Steve Wozniak, who was attending the University of California in Berkeley. Wozniak was keen on electronics like Jobs, and they both felt like doing something different. When Jobs was just 21, he and Wozniak started Apple Computer. They used Job‘s family garage as a workroom. The garage didn’t look like a luxury place to work. However, you might not need perfect working conditions to create something big. At least not at the very beginning.

In 1976, Wozniak invented the first Apple I computer. Jobs, Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, set up Apple computers, which expanded rapidly as the home computers’ market became increasingly significant. Jobs and Wozniak revolutionized the computer industry with Apple by making machines smaller, cheaper, intuitive, and accessible to everyday consumers. No other brands were as popular as Apple. No one changed the computer world at that time as they did.

Well done! As you may see from the story, like and as are not interchangeable. This means that in some situations, you have to use like, and in some cases, you need to use as. However, there is one part of the rule that native English speakers often break when they talk. How confusing!

Now, let’s analyze the sentences from the story in detail to find out when we have to use like and when our phrase requires as.

LIKE

LIKE can be used to give examples. It means the same as „for example“ (1), and it is usually followed by nouns and pronouns,

Apple’s products like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad (=nouns) have been dictating modern technology’s evolution.

LIKE can be used to talk about how one thing is similar to another thing (2). It is followed by a noun or a pronoun.

There were many imps in the class like him (=pronoun), so the teachers never got bored at work.

Despite the fact he did not want to study and sometimes behaved like a naughty child (=noun) he had brains.

LIKE can also be used with verbs such as look/sound/smell (3).

The garage didn’t look like a luxury place to work.

FEEL LIKE (4) is an informal idiom used to express desire, want or inclination for something.

Wozniak was keen on electronics like Jobs, and they both felt like doing something different.

AS

AS = can indicate an occupation (1),
His biological father worked as a political science professor, and his mother worked as a speech therapist.

His adoptive mother worked as an accountant, and his dad was a Coast Guard veteran and machinist.

He also worked as a video game designer.

AS = „in the role/position of“ (2),

Later on, as a baby, Jobs was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs, who named him Steven Paul Jobs.

As a teen, Jobs was a prankster at school because he was often bored.

AS = named, called (3) (known as..),

The family lived together in California, in an area that is now known as Silicon Valley.

AS = to give reasons (4),

As he lacked direction, he dropped out of college and dropped in on creative classes.

AS = can indicate a function (5) of something,

They used Job‘s family garage as a workroom.

AS = when two things take place simultaneously (6),

Jobs, Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne set up Apple computers, which expanded rapidly as the home computers’ market became increasingly significant.

AS = to make a comparison (7) between two entities,

No other brands were as popular as Apple.

AS = can also be used as a conjunction (8) to show similarity. It is followed by a clause or a prepositional phrase,

No one changed the computer world at that time as they did.

In a very informal style, like is often used as a conjunction. This is very common in American English. However, this is not considered correct. Nobody loves her like I do.

I hope that the story helped you to understand how to use as and like in a context, so does my explanation in which I showed you what is behind these two tricky words.

Here you can watch my video about AS and LIKE.