Some grammar elements with similar or overlapping functions just seem to remain slippery no matter how hard we try to get a good grip of them. This is obviously the case with “like” and “such as.” Although we learn early enough that “like” is for saying that something resembles something else, and that “such as” is for giving a specific example of something, the distinction between them often gets so thin and fuzzy in actual usage that we tend to mistake one for the other.
To clarify the usage of “such as” and “like,” I wrote the essay below for my English-usage column in The Manila Times in September of 2005. I am now posting it here to give English learners a much better handle in dealing with this nasty pair of grammar trippers. (October 16, 2011)
Two slippery grammar trippers in English
Surely one of the most slippery grammar trippers we’ll encounter in English is choosing between “like” and “such as” to form comparative statements or give examples. Which of them, for instance, is correctly used in the following two sentences?
(1) “Exemption from flight pre-boarding procedures like a thorough body search is usually granted to diplomats.”
(2) “Exemption from flight pre-boarding procedures such as a thorough body search is usually granted to diplomats.”
If you still haven’t figured out the correct usage, you may take comfort in the fact that you’re not alone in the predicament. The use of “like” and “such as” is actually considered correct in both sentences, but the choice between them has remained debatable all these years. We therefore need to carefully study both sides of the debate so we can put ourselves on more solid semantic footing regarding the usage.
Some grammarians insist that “such as,” which means “for example,” is the only correct usage in such constructions: “Exemption from flight pre-boarding procedures such as a thorough body search is usually granted to diplomats.” They maintain that “like” should never be used as a substitute for “such as,” arguing that “like” doesn’t convey the idea of giving an example at all. Instead, they say, “like” in this usage can only imply similarity, resemblance, or comparison, as in “Her pillow lips look like Angelina Jolie’s.”
Other grammarians are not as restrictive in their prescription for using “like” and “such as,” but they do recommend the following more precise usage for them:
(1) Use “such as” to introduce one or more examples that represent a larger subject, as in “Eduardo has a collection of vintage cars such as the 1955 BMW 507 and the 1915 Vauxhall”; and
(2) Use “like” to convey the idea that two subjects are comparable, as in “Alberto wants to be a vintage car collector like Ramon.”
Take note, though, that those same grammarians consider “like” to be a close semantic equivalent of “such as.” They are therefore not averse to substituting “like” for “such as” in the sentence given in Item 1: “Eduardo has a collection of vintage cars like the 1955 BMW 507 and the 1915 Vauxhall.”
On the other hand, they would find it unthinkable for anyone to substitute “such as” for “like” in the sentence given in Item 2 above. To them, the resulting sentence is unacceptable because it isn’t natural sounding or idiomatic: “Eduardo wants to be a vintage car collector such as Ramon.”
At any rate, “like” in modern spoken English has practically taken over the role of “such as” in comparative statements. The forms “such as” and “such...as” are now largely confined to formal writing. “Like,” in contrast, is now the preferred form for informal usage in which the example being given is offered not simply as an example but as the topic of the sentence itself, as in this case: "We are delighted to have a generous benefactor like Bill Gates." Using “such as” instead of “like” in such sentences must be firmly avoided, for it gives the sentence a false ring: “We are delighted to have a generous benefactor such as Bill Gates.”
In formal writing, we are well advised to distinguish carefully between “like” comparisons and “such as” comparisons. In a “like” comparison, only one person or object from the class is usually named, and that person or object is understood to be excluded from the group being discussed.
Take this example: “If you are a student taught by a brilliant mathematics teacher like Prof. Alberto Reyes, you would learn differential calculus in no time at all.” This comparison is about the possibility of students being taught by mathematics teachers whose brilliance is comparable to Prof. Alberto Reyes’s, with Prof. Reyes himself specifically excluded from the comparison.
On the other hand, in a “such as” or “such...as” comparison, one or several persons or objects can be named in the comparison, and all of those persons or objects are understood to be included in the group being discussed.
Take these two sentences:
“With highly capable mathematics professors such as Prof. Alberto Reyes and Prof. Eduardo Cariño handling the differential calculus classes, we can expect a much higher percentage of passing among the students.”
“With such highly capable mathematics professors as Prof. Alberto Reyes and Prof. Eduardo Cariño handling the differential calculus classes, we can expect a much high percentage of passing among the students.”
In both sentences, the comparison this time is about brilliant mathematics teachers as a class whose members include both Prof. Reyes and Prof. Cariño.
Now that we know how to clearly distinguish the semantic difference between “like” and “such as,” we should be able to use them from now on without fear of tripping in our grammar. (September 26, 2005)
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From the weekly column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in The Manila Times, September 26, 2005 © 2005 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
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