Usage
Q.Hi. I used the following sentence in an e-mail: “Without apologies, I’m sending this Voice article on in case you got depressed (like I did) by the Reading at Risk report or various articles about it.” Someone responded and told me that using “like I did” is grammatically incorrect. Is it really? And if it is NOT incorrect, can you tell me what I can reference to support my wording? (I.e., can I find info on this in the Chicago Manual of Style, and if so, under what topic?) Thanks so much for any help you can offer!
A.I’m afraid your correspondent is right (if not tactful). The correct wording is “as I did.” CMOS isn’t a grammar book, so you won’t find complete coverage of issues like this, but you can find a discussion of the difference between “like” and “as” in almost any grammar book. (Or type “like vs. as” into your search engine.)
