Tell it like it is. It’s like I said. I remember it like it was yesterday. As these familiar examples show, like is often used as a conjunction meaning “as” or “as if.” In fact, writers since Chaucer’s time have used like as a conjunction. But language critics and writing handbooks have condemned this use of like for more than a century, and a writer who uses it in formal style risks being tarred with their brush. If you want to avoid this fate, use as or as if instead: Sales of new models rose as (not like) we expected them to. He ran as if (not like) his life depended on it. Note, however, that there is sometimes a subtle difference between like and as if. With like, there is often a stronger suggestion that the following clause is true. For example, the sentence The teachers treat her like she has real talent is not exactly equivalent to The teachers treat her as if she had real talent. The sentence using as if implies that her talent could be in doubt.
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Like is acceptable as a conjunction when used in informal contexts, especially with verbs such as feel, look, seem, sound, and taste: It looks like we are in for a rough winter. Constructions in which the verb is not expressed, such as He took to politics like a duck to water, are acceptable even in formal style, since like in this case can be viewed as a preposition.
