'Like' versus 'As'/'As If'

I like to use language in a correct way. So I happened to Google accidentally quite a long time ago now that if you use 'like' with a phrase that includes a verb, it is wrong. 'Like' is a preposition, and 'as' is a conjunction. Hence, you use 'like' with a noun or a noun phrase, whereas you use 'as' with a clause that includes a verb. So you can say something like, 'you look like a monkey', or 'you look as if you swing through trees', but never 'you look like you swing through trees'.

Sounds all very well, but I don't know of any English writer who actually uses this rule. Everywhere I read 'like' used as a conjunction. In fact, when I Google the exact phrase 'looks as if', all I get are pages that talk about how to use 'like' versus 'as if'. This seems to defeat the purpose of using the phrase.

In the end, grammarians do not determine the rules of language, speakers do. And if they didn't we'd still be speaking the language of Shakespeare, of Proto-Indo-European! I will probably say things like 'as I said' versus 'like I said'. But if a conjunctive 'like' passes from my lips from time to time, I think I'll still be able to sleep at night.

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