53. “As”, “Like” and “Such As”

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“Such as” introduces an example, “like” an example or a similarity, and “as” an example, similarity or role

THE CONFUSING NATURE OF “As”, “Like” AND “Such As”

Some uses of as, like and such as are very similar. In some languages, indeed, all three are sometimes translated by the same word. Explanations of the difference between as and like are easily found in mainstream grammar books, but mentions at the same time of such as are rare. My hope here is to offer a clear explanation of the more confusing aspects of the overlapping uses of these three expressions.

Other uses of as are considered elsewhere in this blog in 92. Verbs with an Object + “as”,  104. Naming Data Sources with “As”,  183. Statements between Commas and 225. Simultaneous Occurrence (#2).

Part of the problem with investigating how the three expressions differ is that grammar is involved as much as meaning. There are both preposition uses to consider and conjunction ones.

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PREPOSITION USES 1 (Adjectival)

Prepositions need a partner noun, often called their “object”, which usually goes just after them (see 84. Seven Things to Know about Prepositions). The two together – known commonly as a preposition phrase – act sometimes like an adjective and sometimes like an adverb. In the first case they say something about a noun placed either just in front of them or earlier and separated by a link verb like BE; in the second case they say something about a verb or the sentence as a whole. Many preposition phrases have both uses, but some have only one (see 164. Fixed Preposition Phrases).

Preposition phrases starting with as, such as or like can easily act like adjectives, but they normally need to come immediately after the noun they describe. In the following examples, this noun is prisons.

(a) Prisons as rehabilitation centres are a failure.

(b) Prisons, such as/like Alcatraz, can be distressing to visit.

(c) Prisons such as/like Alcatraz can be distressing to visit.

(d) Prisons, like hospitals, can be distressing to visit.

(e) Prisons like hospitals can be distressing to visit.

The meanings of as, such as and like used like this are as follows: 

As means “in the role of” or “in the form of” or even “with the purpose of”. It suggests that the noun after it is naming a special use of the noun before. 

Such as introduces one or more examples, like for example (see 1. Simple Example-Giving and 54. Sentence Lists 1: Incidental). It normally indicates that the noun(s) after it – Alcatraz above – represent some of a larger group shown by the noun before – prisons above (though see 228. Exotic Grammar Structures 5, #1). It cannot be used before a list of all the group’s members, this often requiring the before the class name instead (see 309. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 5, #1). The preceding noun will, in representing a group, normally be either plural or a generalizing singular, e.g. a prison.

Such as phrases may go inside two commas, as in (b), or not, as in (c). The difference is similar to that made by using or not using commas with who, which or that (see 34. Relative Pronouns and Commas and 77. Apposition). In other words, sentence (b) is about all prisons, while (c) narrows the meaning of prisons, making it refer to only some (the Alcatraz kind). 

Like can be used in much the same way as such as to introduce an example. However, it is probably more used like this in spoken than written English.

Like can also be used both with and without commas to show a similarity, as in (d) and (e). The use with commas actually creates adverbial phrases, I think, rather than adjectival ones, because they do not have to follow a noun – they can be right at the start of the sentence with a comma after them. For more about this use, see 56. Comparing with “Like” and Unlike” and 149. Saying How Things are Similar.

On the other hand, like phrases without commas, as in (e), are adjectival. They narrow the meaning of the general noun before them, just as in the exemplifying use. Note that similarity-showing like cannot be used after the same (see 87. “Same As” versus “Same That”). 

You can tell whether an adjectival like phrase is giving an example or a similarity by comparing the noun after it with the noun before. If the noun after like means something that is part of what the noun before it means (in the way that Alcatraz means part of the idea of prisons), then an example is being given; whereas if the noun after like does not mean part of what the preceding noun means (in the way that hospitals is not part of what prisons means), then a similarity is being indicated.

A further way to check whether like is making a comparison is to see is it can follow one of a select group of “degree” adverbs: a little, exactly, just, mostly, much, quite, rather, roughly, slightly or very (see 262. Adverbs that Describe a Preposition).

Note that a noun before the comparing use of like does not have to have plural or general meaning. Here is a non-general one:

(f) The new virus produced an illness like influenza. 

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PREPOSITION USES 2 (Adverbial)

In the examples above, the prepositional as, such as and like all have a noun immediately before them which they and their own noun describe in an adjective-like manner. The other use of preposition phrases – not describing a preceding noun, and hence adverb-like rather than adjective-like – is also possible with as and like, but not with such as. Consider these: 

(g) The circus recruits perform as clowns.

(h) The circus recruits perform like clowns. 

Here the word before each preposition (perform) is a verb. The prepositions and their partner nouns are acting like adverbs because they are saying how the action of this verb happens. However, their meanings are still more or less unchanged: as means “in the role of” while like means “similarly to”. Thus as says the recruits were clowns, while like says they were not, but just resembled them (see 149. Saying How Things are Similar). The resemblance is probably not strong: a stronger one could be expressed with …as if they were clowns (see 191. Exotic Grammar Structures 3, #3).

This adverb-like use of prepositional as phrases is easily confused with the complement use in sentences such as the following:

(i) Grammar can be described as a challenge. 

In both cases, the noun after as stands for the same person or idea as the sentence subject − clowns = recruits in (g); a challenge = grammar in (i). The difference is perhaps that in the complement use as does not mean “in the role of” or “in the form of” (see 220. Features of Complements, #4).

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CONJUNCTION USES

1. Comparison

As and like (but not such as) can also be conjunctions, in other words used with a verb in addition to a noun after them (see 174. Eight Things to Know about Conjunctions, #1). In this role, they can both introduce a comparison like this:

(j) Adjectives can follow BE as/like nouns can.

Like here is rather informal but not very different in meaning from the preposition uses above. As, however, is not the same as above, since it now means the same as like, and hence indicates that the nouns before and after refer to two similar things, not one thing with two names.

The verb after as/like in (j) is can, a stand-alone auxiliary understood as an abbreviated repetition of the main verb can follow (see 237. Auxiliary Verbs in Professional Communication, #1). Such auxiliaries are the normal requirement after this use of as/like. The as/like part as a whole in (j) says how the action of the main verb is carried out. The sentence means, as a result, that the way adjectives can follow BE is the same as the way nouns can.

It is also possible to write (j) with a comma before as/like. That would link the words after it with all of the words before rather than just the verb. The sentence would then not be saying anything about the way adjectives can follow BE, but would simply be asserting their ability to do so and their similarity to nouns in this respect. Another possibility after a comma is to reverse the order of the noun and verb following as – …as can nouns above (see 159. Exotic Grammar Structures 2, #1).

The fact that the conjunction as can mean practically the same thing as the preposition like allows us to paraphrase one as the other. Sentence (h) above, for example, can be paraphrased with as like this: 

(k) The circus recruits perform as clowns do. 

This compares circus recruits with clowns, just as (h) does. The important thing to remember here is that without the do there is no comparison, only the meaning of “in the role of”. 

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2. A Special Exemplifying Use Of “As”

Having indicated that as cannot generally be used for giving an example, I have to mention one important exception. This is in sentences like (l): 

(l) The letter “u” is sometimes pronounced like “e”, as in “bury” 

The key requirement for this use is a preposition (commonly in) just before the example. There could also be a verb (e.g. it is) before the preposition, reflecting the fact that as is a conjunction, but that is often left “understood” as in (l) (see 36. Words Left Out to Avoid Repetition). The exact example in (l) is the letter “u” in “bury” and the name of the general class to which it belongs is the letter “u” … pronounced like the letter “e”.

52. Participles Placed Just after their Noun

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Using a participle directly after the noun it describes poses a number of grammar problems

FEATURES OF PARTICIPLES

Participles have the following features:

(i) They are verbs that, like adjectives, describe a nearby noun.

(ii) They have one of three possible forms:

PRESENT: -ing added to an active verb (e.g. going) or the BE part of a passive (e.g. being seen). As both of these are also the form of gerunds (which act like nouns – see 70. Gerunds), and simple -ing forms can also be nouns (see 240. Nouns that End with “-ing”), or ordinary adjectives (see 245. Adjectives with a Participle Ending), confusion is possible. The term “present” is slightly problematic because -ing participles can refer to past actions as well (e.g. Leaving Britain, Caesar rushed to Rome).

PAST: regular verb + -ed (e.g. involved), or irregular verb in the “third” form (e.g. put, begun, known – see 97. Verb Form Confusions). Again, “past” is slightly misleading because these participles can refer to present time too; their typical passive meaning is often more important (see 291. Subtleties of “-ed”, #2).

PERFECT: having + “past” participle (e.g. having seen, having noticed). This is another form that is sometimes a gerund rather than a participle. It is considered separately in this blog in 267. Participles and Gerunds with “Having”.

To make any participle negative, just place not in front (not noticing, not seen, not having read).

(iii) They cannot be the only verb in a sentence – there must always be another verb (even if it is just an auxiliary). This is what grammar books mean when they call participles “non-finite”.

Participles can occupy four main positions relative to the noun they describe: some distance before it, immediately before it (e.g. the emerging picture), immediately after it (e.g. the picture emerging), and in a delayed position after it. This post is about the third of these positions, immediately after a noun.

Guinlist posts dealing with the other participle positions are respectively 75. How to Avoid “Dangling” Participles,  71. Gerund & Participle Uses of “-ing” and 101. Add-On Participles. There is also a separate post (232. Verbs with an Object + “-ing”) on participle versus non-participle -ing after a noun object of another verb, like this:

(a) The agency HELPS children living in poverty.

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PROBLEMS WITH PARTICIPLES PLACED JUST AFTER A NOUN

1. Confusability with Ordinary Verbs

By “ordinary verbs”, I mean verbs in a typical tense form like present simple (operate/s), past simple (operated), or present continuous (is/are operating). It is quite a common error to use an ordinary verb, especially the last kind, when a participle like operating in (a) is required instead. It is also quite common for grammar-checking software to wrongly think a having participle can be the only verb in a sentence (see 275. How Computers Get Grammar Wrong 3, #6).

The usual reason for a participle being necessary instead of an ordinary verb is the sentence already possessing an ordinary verb but lacking any verb-linking word like and or which. Two ordinary verbs cannot be together in the same sentence without such a word (or a semi-colon). Participles do not need such words because their ending (-ing, -ed) is the equivalent of one (see 30. When to Write a Full Stop). Very often the ordinary verb accompanying a participle will be has/have or there is/are (see 161. Special Uses of “There” Sentences, #7).

Here is a sentence where a participle facilitates verb-addition. What form should the added verb MAKE have?

(b) Coat hangers often COMPRISE thin metal … into a triangular shape.

This needs the “past” participle made. The ordinary forms makes and is made are wrong because there is no verb-linking word enabling them to accompany the main verb comprise, while the “present” participle making is wrong because the meaning is passive (with its expected object as its subject: see 4. Verbs that don’t have to be Passive). One could also say which is made – indeed lone “past” participles like made are often viewed as an abbreviation of their use after which + BE (see 192. When BE can be Omitted).

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2. Confusability with Other Joining Devices

It is incorrect to place who, which or that before a participle without BE, e.g. *which made after metal in (b). This confuses two possibilities that are each correct without the other (see 133. Confusions of Similar Structures 1, #3).

Expressions like *which made are incorrect because the same verb (MAKE) then has two joining devices (which and irregular -ed), which English does not allow. With who, which or that, an ordinary verb is needed instead of a participle: in (b) the present simple is made (preferable here to the present continuous is being made).

The combination and made is possible in some contexts, but not in (b) since it again creates two joining devices instead of one. To use and, you have to say and they are made.

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3. Requirement to Use Commas in a Special Way

When participles after a noun correspond to ordinary verbs with who, which and that, the comma rules of the latter apply (see 34. Relative Pronouns and Commas). Consider these:

(c) The London located in Canada is less well-known than London in England.

(d) The Taj Mahal, located in Northern India, is a great wonder.

In both of these cases, the participle located corresponds to which is located. No commas are possible in (c) because located follows a noun (London) representing more than one possibility, and is helping to identify which one is meant. In contrast, (d) has two commas because located is not helping to identify which of different Taj Mahals is meant – there is only one.

The same thing happens with -ing participles. No commas are possible in the following because the participle living acts like who live to help identify which people are meant:

(e) People living in glass houses should not throw stones.

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4. Confusability with Relative Clauses

The frequent ability of participles to replace who, which or that + ordinary verb does not mean that they always can. The relative pronoun must be the subject of the verb after it. In the following, the subject is they instead:

(f) Everybody moved away. Hence, the work THAT they were involved in stopped.

Replacing the underlined relative clause here with the participle involved would remove they, thus nonsensically making work its subject instead.

There are also situations where a participle cannot usually replace a relative clause despite having the right subject. These are when the verb in the relative clause is active and either surrounded by commas or signifying a past completed event, e.g.:

(g) (ACTIVE + COMMAS) The Prime Minister, who heads the government, is appointed by the President.

(h) (ACTIVE = PAST EVENT) The person who invented light bulbs deserves special honour.

It would be incorrect to say *heading in (g). An -ing participle between commas is not always incorrect, but it must express an action or state that is both simultaneous (or nearly so) with that of the main verb (earlier actions are possible but need a having participle) and also a reason for it. Heading a government is not normally a reason for being appointed by a president. Here is an example of a reason-showing -ing participle with commas:

(i) Older racing cars, possessing (= which possessed) few safety features, caused numerous fatalities.

In (h), the active past event verb invented rules out the participle *inventing. Replacing invented with the non-event verb worked with would allow the participle working.

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5. Confusability with Participles before their Noun

The positioning of a participle before or after the noun it describes is decided by a variety of rules. The main one is that participles follow their noun if they are combined with their own object or adverb expression, such as living in poverty after the noun children in sentence (a) (see 109. Placing an Adjective after its Noun); otherwise, some precede their noun, some follow it, and many allow a choice.

Examples of pre-noun participles are the rising sun, running water, improved results and related ideas. Examples of the object-less use after a noun are dots appearing, matters arising, answers found and results shown. Participles with variable use include emerging, remaining, observed, indicated and preferred. It is apparent that many  participles without their own object describe their noun in a combination that is well-established, almost fixed. This is especially clear where the participle comes first (see 320. Special Participle Uses, #7).

Guidelines on which lone participles can go where are scarce. It is important first to distinguish participles from participle-like adjectives , such as interesting, welcoming, relaxed and bored, since these behave like adjectives in general in typically preceding their noun in the situation in question. For a list of distinguishing features, see 245. Adjectives with a Participle Ending.

One especially useful indication of -ing adjectives is ability to follow very; while many -ed adjectives have a meaning that differs in an unpredictable way from that of their related verb. For example, the adjective advanced means not “put in a forward position” but “technically sophisticated” (see 261. Words with Complicated Grammar 3, #2).

The meaning of a participle can sometimes indicate where to position it: properties or constant conditions before the noun, one-off events after. Compare:

emerging nations/ the colour emerging
the preferred solution/ the solution preferred

Describing nations, emerging is a state (constant emergence), but with colour it is a single event. Preferred before its noun means “generally preferred”, but after it “preferred in this case”. The use before is close to being adjectival (see 66. Types of Passive Verb Meaning).

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PRACTICE EXERCISE: VERB FORM SELECTION

The following exercise is similar to one in my book Grammar Practice for Professional Writing. You have to put the capitalised verbs into their correct forms (answers afterwards).

1. An essay WRITE carefully and accurately may receive a high grade. 

2. Mount Everest RISE nearly 8km above sea level on the India-Nepal border. 

3. A diameter is a straight line PASS from one side of a circle to another through the centre. 

4. According to scientists, the current unrestrained burning of fossil fuels CAUSE a dangerous amount of global warming.

5. A questionnaire was administered and the data OBTAIN SHOW some surprising trends.

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Answers: 1 = written (passive participle; other verb = may receive); 2 = rises (present simple active; no other verb); 3 = passing (active participle; other verb = is); 4 = is causing or causes (present simple/continuous active; no other verb – burning and warming are not “proper” verbs);   5 = obtained (passive participle; main verb = showed) and showed (past simple active, linked to earlier was administered by and).