Such as vs. Like

Like and such as are used to give examples of something between two or several nouns or groups. They both mean for example , but we can not use it as a replacement for either one. There are a lot of arguments over the uses of the two, usually some of which based on personal beliefs . They can be used interchangeably in many occasions (not always) and sometimes there are subtle distinctions between them:

Like seems to be of higher frequency in spoken English, while such as is more common in written or formal spoken English But in formal written contexts, most editors still attempt to maintain a useful distinction between a like comparison and a such as comparison.

-Today I have a lot of works to do, like shopping, cleaning the house, picking children from school… 

Like can be used to mention examples to mean "such as":

- A lot of older people, like my grandparents, for example, are enjoying their retirement by traveling all over the world.

-There are many things to do on the beach, like swimming, surfing ,biking and getting a tan.

We can replace like with such as in the above sentences, but like sounds less formal .

Strictly, there seems to be the following distinctions:

1-When they are used to compare two or more nouns, like essentially means similar to or in the manner of. while, such as means for example:

Compare following sentences:

- The animals like the Iranian cheetahs are classed as an endangered species .

- The animals, like the Iranian cheetahs are classed as an endangered species .

- The animals such as the Iranian cheetahs are classed as an endangered species .

The first sentence says that the animals that are similar to the Iranian cheetah- say, for example, African or Asian cheetahs are classed as endangered species. It doesn’t suggest that other  species, such as Siberian tiger, Leopard, Brown bear are endangered.

Like and such as in The second and the third ones can mean for example and indicate that the Iranian cheetah is an example of the endangered species that can include Siberian tiger, Leopard, Brown bear… .
Therefore, when using like notice the comma before it, otherwise it makes ambiguity.

2- A lot of mistakes happen when like is used in the sense of similar to:

- Sculptors, like painters see their art as a cosa mentale, work that requires intellectual activity.

In this sentence and the ones like this which the word like showing similarity between two things, using such as in this sentence sounds incorrect because a sculptor is not a painter; In a sentence of this form, the noun after like is generally assumed to be more familiar to the reader than is the subject of the sentence. If we wanted to replace like with such as to make a correct sentence, we would have to change painters to names of some sculptors:

- Sculptors, such as Paul Soldner, Elaine Coleman, Don Reitz see their art as a cosa mentale, work that requires intellectual activity.

Also notice the following sentences:

- Her son wants to be a man like his father.

Incorrect: His son wants to be a man such as his father.

- I like to have a car like yours.

Incorrect: I like to have a car such as yours.

Another misuse: A few days ago a friend of mine told me that I saw a movie starring actors like Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp .In fact the actors were Cruise and Depp and he should have used such as instead of like but if you take his word literally It means he saw a movie with Cruise and Depp imitators .

3- When like means in the manner of : 

Like means "in the manner of this one," but it also includes the idea of "not necessarily this exact one." For example, here's a proper use: "Since the end of the 1960s, people from all parts of the world like Hitler have tried but failed to institute a new world order."
http://barelybad.com/words2.htm
There have been mentioned many other distinctions which I ignore them. The followings are some comments and excerpts from some notable authors and websites about the difference between such as and like:

A- Here is an excerpt from alt-usage-english.org :

The Little, Brown Handbook (6th ed., HarperCollins, 1995) says:

"Strictly, such as precedes an example that represents a larger subject, whereas like indicates that two subjects are comparable.Steve has recordings of many great saxophonists such as Ben Webster and Lee Konitz. Steve wants to be a great jazz saxophonist like Ben Webster and Lee Konitz." Nobody would use "such as" in the second sentence; the disputed usage is "like" in the first sentence.

B- And this is a comment from http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~gernot/style-guide.html :

When you are referring to a set, the members of which have in common a given characteristic, and you wish to give an example that is a member of that set, you should use such as. When you are referring to a set that does not include your example, but that contains members that resemble your example, you should use like. Examples: Students, such as those at UNSW, sometimes are having fun. Sometimes they behave like children with a new toy. (Note that British/Australian English is more relaxed about this rule than American English.)

C- http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/grammarlogs2/grammarlogs368.htm :

Whether you stick with such as or switch to like when introducing examples of a class seems to be a matter purely of taste. Burchfield recommends using such as when referring to more than one example: "Romantic composers such as Chopin, Schubert, and Tchaikovsky. . . ." But when referring to a single example (thing or person), either like or such as is acceptable: "A Romantic composer like Tchaikovsky. . . ."

Burchfield also allows for the object form of the pronoun after such as (in sentences such as the one you suggest). Some writers insist that the such as is introducing a kind of understood clause, which would demand the subject form: "You don't often find a friend such as I [am]." But Burchfield takes note of sentences like Macaulay's "They were not bad, for such as her.

D- drgrammar.com


"Writers whom we respect disagree on whether there is any significant difference between like and such as. Wilson Follett and Theodore Bernstein say no. James J. Kilpatrick says yes. We come down gingerly on the side of Kilpatrick. His argument seems valid: 'When we are talking of large, indefinite fields of similarity, like properly may be used.' When we are talking about specifically named persons [places or things] . . . included in a small field, we ought to use such as.' In 'Books like this one can help you write better,' like means similar to. In 'Cities such as Atlanta and Birmingham are important to the economy of the Southeast,' the intent is to specify those cities as examples, not merely to put them into a broad category of cities that are important to the economy of the Southeast" (Lederer and Dowis, Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay 79).

Note that:
Don’t use too many like or such as in your sentences :

- Most of the oil producing countries, like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Kuwait try to invest in oil-based- products like(use such as) petrol, petrochemicals,…

- President Festus Mogae says small nations such as Botswana and Barbados faced similar challenges (use like)such as diversifying and building sustainable...

Both Such as me  and such as myself are used but notice that such as myself  seems more common:
With like you'd better use me instead of myself :

People like me /people such as myself  seek the truth.