问英语｜英语常见问题解答

as/like¹

问

As every other member of the team, Klaus wore an official uniform in the victory parade. (TOEFL)
He works ____ engineer. A. like B. as C. the same as D. as an(Nelson, 300A)

我总是区分不开 as 与 like 的用法。我觉得做这样的题很困难。

答

应注意如下几点：

A. 作“如”“像”“按照”解的 as 可用作连词, 其后可引出方式状语从句, 即引出另一套主谓结构, 在正式英语里 like 则没有这个功能:

When at Rome, do as the Romans do. (Prov.) 在罗马就要像罗马人那样行动(入乡随俗)。
I want you to tell my friend your very interesting experience exactly as you have told it to me. (Doyle) 我想让你像给我讲述过的那样,给我的朋友讲一讲你那段极其有趣的经历。

B. as 和 like 都可用作介词,但词义是不同的。as 表示“作为”“以……资格”,like 则表示“像”“与……相似”:

As a scientist, he was dedicated to the truth. 作为一名科学家，他献身于真理。
He wants me to go with him as his secretary. (Priestley) 他想让我以他的秘书的身份和他一起去。
Sam works like a beaver. (IME) 萨姆工作勤勤恳恳。
Like every other student, Sara had difficulty with tenses. (IME) 像其他每个学生一样，萨拉对于时态的用法很吃力。

问

She saw that there was nothing else she could do, the room was clean like it had never been $\frac{1}{2}$

before. (TOEFL)

答案规定将 like(C) 改为 as, 即 like 不能用作连词。但是, 我在英语语法书上却看到过这样的句子:

It was just like I imagined.

这正像我所想象的那样。

这是怎么回事呢？

答

对于大中学生,应明确地告诉他们:like一般用作介词,而不能用作连词。事实上也确实如此。在正式英语里,as和like的分工是很明确的。

Please try to write $\left\{ \begin{array}{ll} as & I \text{ do.} \\ like & me. \end{array} \right.$ (CGEL)

但是英语教师和英语研究者则应掌握得多一些。虽然把 like 用作从属连词遭到规定语法学派的坚决反对，但是这种用法在非正式语体的英语里却是很常见的。

I can't sing like I used to. (CEU) 我不能像以前那样唱歌了。
He writes just like his brother did when he was young. (CEU) 他现在写文章正像他哥哥年轻时写文章一样。
Please try to write like I do. (CGEL) 请尽量按我这样写。
... we would still go to Renaissance Weekend over New Year's like we always did. (Hillary, Living History) ……我们仍会像往年一样，新年时共度复兴周末。(希拉里，《亲历历史》)
I was supposed to do a good job, just like everyone else who worked for a living. (B. Clinton, My Life) 我理所当然地应该干好工作，正如所有靠工作维持生活的人一样。（《我的生活》）

问

（a）She spoke as a lawyer.

(b) She spoke like a lawyer.

我看不出 like 与 as 有什么区别。

答

as 和 like 都可以用作介词,但意义不同。as 表示“以实际的身份或地位”(actual role)。因此,句(a)的意思是:“她作为律师发言。”或“她以律师的身份发言”。like 则表示“与……相似”,“以与……相类似的方式”,因此句(b)的意思是:“她讲话很像是律师。”类例:

I had no success as a novelist. (Shaw) 我作为一位小说作家并没有获得成功。
Perhaps I can act as spokesman. (Snow) 也许我能做代言人。
We got on together like old friends. (Shaw) 我们在一起相处得就像老朋友似的。
Ever since mother came she has worked like a horse. (Mansfield) 自从妈妈来到这里，就像牛马似地辛勤劳动着。