Like vs. As – English Grammar Exercises for B2
Read the investigative journalist’s live broadcast transcript exposing the mayor’s scandalous behavior during the city’s sanitation crisis. Choose the best option to complete the sentences.
1 “Good evening. Reporting live from City Hall, I am speaking to you ______ a deeply concerned citizen and your lead investigative journalist.”
(a) like
(b) as
(c) as if
(d) similar to
2 “Just three miles away from this golf course, uncollected garbage bags are piling up, looking exactly ______ small, toxic mountains.”
(a) as
(b) alike
(c) like
(d) as though
3 “Despite the state of emergency, Mayor Thomas casually practiced his golf swing ______ he had already solved the devastating garbage crisis.”
(a) as if
(b) like as
(c) as
(d) similar to
4 “He has completely abandoned his desk, choosing to use the luxury country club ______ his primary executive office.”
(a) like
(b) as
(c) as if
(d) alike
5 “When our camera crew approached him on the 9th hole, he was wandering around the green ______ a carefree tourist on summer vacation.”
(a) as
(b) as though
(c) like
(d) as being
6 “He smiled widely and waved at the cameras exactly ______ the piles of toxic waste had miraculously vanished overnight.”
(a) like
(b) as
(c) as though
(d) just as
7 “The mayor’s press secretary arrogantly dismissed our urgent questions ______ mere media sensationalism.”
(a) like
(b) as
(c) as if
(d) similar to
8 “Watching him celebrate a successful golf putt, you would think he looked ______ a champion, rather than a failing public servant.”
(a) as
(b) like
(c) as if
(d) to be
9 “______ you can clearly see in the live footage behind me, the downtown streets are now completely impassable.”
(a) Like
(b) Which
(c) As if
(d) As
10 “The downtown area currently smells ______ an abandoned landfill, yet the mayor breathes in the fresh air of the golf course.”
(a) as if
(b) as
(c) like
(d) alike
11 “During his brief, forced interview, he spoke with a calm tone, ______ the ongoing sanitation strike had never even occurred.”
(a) like
(b) as if
(c) as
(d) similar to
12 “______ is often the case with out-of-touch politicians, he seems completely insulated from the reality of the working-class citizens.”
(a) Like
(b) As if
(c) As
(d) Which
13 “When confronted about the health hazards, he brushed off my microphone ______ my question had been nothing more than an annoying fly.”
(a) like
(b) as
(c) as though
(d) similar
14 “By refusing to return to City Hall, he is treating the hardworking, tax-paying voters ______ absolute fools.”
(a) like
(b) as
(c) as if
(d) alike
15 “Looking at this shocking footage, local residents feel ______ they had been entirely abandoned by their elected officials.”
(a) as
(b) like
(c) as if
(d) as being
16 “No previous administration has ever treated a public health threat ______ carelessly ______ Mayor Thomas’s office has today.”
(a) like / like
(b) as / like
(c) like / as
(d) as / as
17 “He is shamelessly using his political immunity ______ a shield to deflect any accountability for this disaster.”
(a) like
(b) as
(c) as though
(d) alike
18 “The mayor continues to pose ______ a confident, unbothered leader, while the public views his luxury trip ______ a massive insult.”
(a) as / as
(b) like / as
(c) as / like
(d) like / like
19 “He behaves ______ a man with absolutely no responsibilities, acting ______ the city’s infrastructure had not completely collapsed.”
(a) as / like
(b) like / as if
(c) as if / as
(d) like / alike
20 “We cannot simply accept this level of negligence. It is time the city council officially regards his absence ______ a dereliction of duty.”
(a) like
(b) as if
(c) as
(d) as to
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (b) as
- Why it is correct (The Key): Speaking AS + Noun is used to state a person’s actual capacity, reality, or job. The speaker genuinely is an investigative journalist.
- Error Analysis: (a) like (Meaning Trap: “Speaking like a journalist” implies they are pretending or just imitating one). (c) as if (Structural Error: Must be followed by a full clause). (d) similar to (Structural Error).
2 (c) like
- Why it is correct (The Key): The sensory verb look requires like when followed by a noun to express visual similarity (look like + Noun). The garbage bags are not actual mountains.
- Error Analysis: (a) as (Meaning Trap: “Look as” is grammatically incorrect for visual comparisons). (b) alike (Structural Error). (d) as though (Structural Error: Requires a subject and verb clause).
3 (a) as if
- Why it is correct (The Key): As if (or as though) introduces a hypothetical, surreal situation. The reporter uses the Past Perfect (“had solved”) to highlight the bitter irony: the crisis is ongoing, but he behaves hypothetically as if it were already a completed success in the past.
- Error Analysis: (b) like as (Structural Error: Non-existent phrase). (c) as (Structural Error: Cannot introduce a hypothetical clause). (d) similar to (Structural Error: Requires a noun, not a clause).
4 (b) as
- Why it is correct (The Key): The phrase use something AS something assigns a specific, factual function to a place. He is literally utilizing the golf club in the capacity of his office.
- Error Analysis: (a) like (Common Mistake: ‘Use like’ is heavily frowned upon in formal journalism; ‘use as’ is the standard collocation). (c) as if (Structural Error). (d) alike (Structural Error).
5 (c) like
- Why it is correct (The Key): Wandering around LIKE + Noun is a simile. The mayor is not actually a tourist on vacation; he is a politician supposed to be working.
- Error Analysis: (a) as (Meaning Trap: “Wandering as a tourist” would mean his factual, legal status at that moment is a tourist). (b) as though (Structural Error). (d) as being (Structural Error).
6 (c) as though
- Why it is correct (The Key): As though (synonymous with as if) is followed by the Past Perfect (“had miraculously vanished”) to aggressively point out the delusion and irony of his smile, contrasting it with the grim reality.
- Error Analysis: (a) like (Common Mistake: While used in slang, formal B2/C1 journalistic grammar requires ‘as if’ or ‘as though’ before a clause). (b) as (Structural Error). (d) just as (Meaning Trap: Means “at the exact same time as a fact,” not a delusion).
7 (b) as
- Why it is correct (The Key): The collocation dismiss something AS something means to officially reject or categorize an issue in the capacity of that thing.
- Error Analysis: (a) like (Common Mistake: Wrong preposition for this fixed phrase). (c) as if (Structural Error). (d) similar to (Structural Error).
8 (b) like
- Why it is correct (The Key): Look like + Noun compares his appearance/vibe to a champion.
- Error Analysis: (a) as (Meaning Trap: You cannot use ‘look as’ for a noun comparison). (c) as if (Structural Error). (d) to be (Structural Error).
9 (d) As
- Why it is correct (The Key): As + Clause (“As you can clearly see”) means “according to” or “in the factual way that.” This is standard journalistic referencing.
- Error Analysis: (a) Like (Common Mistake: “Like you can see” is highly informal and grammatically frowned upon in broadcasting). (b) Which (Structural Error). (c) As if (Meaning Trap).
10 (c) like
- Why it is correct (The Key): The sensory verb smell takes like when followed by a noun to express perceived similarity (smell like + Noun).
- Error Analysis: (a) as if (Structural Error: Requires a full clause). (b) as (Structural Error). (d) alike (Structural Error).
11 (b) as if
- Why it is correct (The Key): Uses as if + Past Perfect (“had never even occurred”) to criticize the politician’s bizarre, out-of-touch attitude, acting as if a real past event was entirely fictional.
- Error Analysis: (a) like (Common Mistake: Colloquial. News anchors must use ‘as if’). (c) as (Structural Error). (d) similar to (Structural Error).
12 (c) As
- Why it is correct (The Key): This is a fixed, highly formal phrase: As is often the case (meaning “which is a common situation”).
- Error Analysis: (a) Like (Common Mistake: A direct, incorrect translation of “similar to the case”). (b) As if (Structural Error). (d) Which (Structural Error given the syntax).
13 (c) as though
- Why it is correct (The Key): Introduces a hypothetical, unreal clause (“my question had been a fly”). Using the Past Perfect emphasizes the extreme arrogance of his action.
- Error Analysis: (a) like (Common Mistake). (b) as (Structural Error: ‘As’ would mean the question was literally a fly). (d) similar (Structural Error).
14 (b) as
- Why it is correct (The Key): Treat someone AS something is the formal collocation meaning to handle or classify people in a specific capacity (classifying them as fools).
- Error Analysis: (a) like (Common Mistake: While ‘treat like’ is widely used, ‘treat as’ carries a stronger tone of formal classification in journalism). (c) as if (Structural Error). (d) alike (Structural Error).
15 (c) as if
- Why it is correct (The Key): The structure feel as if + Clause (with the Past Perfect “had been abandoned”) expresses a profound, hypothetical psychological sensation resulting from the mayor’s actions.
- Error Analysis: (a) as (Structural Error). (b) like (Common Mistake: ‘Feel like’ is fine before a noun, but before a clause, ‘feel as if’ is the formal standard). (d) as being (Structural Error).
16 (d) as / as
- Why it is correct (The Key): The standard structure for equal negative comparison of adverbs is as + adverb + as (treated a threat as carelessly as the mayor has).
- Error Analysis: (a) like / like (Common Mistake: Translating word-for-word from native languages). (b) as / like (Structural Error). (c) like / as (Structural Error).
17 (b) as
- Why it is correct (The Key): Use something AS something. The political immunity is literally functioning in the capacity of a shield.
- Error Analysis: (a) like (Meaning Trap). (c) as though (Structural Error). (d) alike (Structural Error).
18 (a) as / as
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Pose AS a leader” means to present oneself in that official capacity. “Views his trip AS an insult” uses the collocation view/regard as to classify the event.
- Error Analysis: (b) like / as (Meaning Trap: “Pose like” is a physical stance for a photo, not adopting an official persona). (c) as / like (Structural Error). (d) like / like (Common Mistake).
19 (b) like / as if
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Behaves LIKE a man” compares his behavior to a noun phrase. “Acting AS IF the infrastructure had not collapsed” introduces a deeply ironic, unreal clause using the Past Perfect.
- Error Analysis: (a) as / like (Meaning Trap). (c) as if / as (Structural Error). (d) like / alike (Structural Error).
20 (c) as
- Why it is correct (The Key): The collocation regard something AS something means to officially classify an action in a legal or professional capacity.
- Error Analysis: (a) like (Meaning Trap: You do not “regard like”; you classify it “as”). (b) as if (Structural Error). (d) as to (Structural Error).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- AS IF / AS THOUGH + Past Perfect for Irony & Condemnation:
- In journalistic or formal writing, use as if or as though followed by the Past Perfect (e.g., had happened, had vanished) to heavily criticize someone. It highlights the absurdity of a person pretending a major past or ongoing event did not occur.
- Example: “He smiled as if the city had not completely collapsed.” (The city did collapse, making his smile deeply inappropriate).
- Crucial Note: Avoid using “like” before a clause in formal writing. Always use as if / as though.
- AS for Referencing & Classification:
- Use As + Clause to reference facts formally: As you can see, As I reported.
- Use As + Noun with verbs of classification to establish official status or reality: Treat as a fool, Dismiss as a joke, Regard as an insult, Use as a shield, Pose as a leader.
- LIKE for Similes & Visuals:
- Use Like + Noun/Pronoun to compare a person’s behavior or appearance to something they are not. It emphasizes the similarity, not the reality.
- Example: “He wanders around like a tourist.” (He is a mayor, not a tourist).
- Always use like with sensory verbs before a noun: look like a mountain, smell like a landfill.