Unlike the automobile company (OG2020 SC Q880)

[LIK WONGL738]

Referring to OG 2020 Question 880 answer E's "Unlike the automobile company's research on crashes involving sport utility vehicles", I'm confused about it with a paragraph of All Verbal (7th edition) page 95 (chapter 6), which states "Like is used to compare nouns. Never put a clause or prepositional phrase after like".

So it's fine to use prepositional phrase to modify noun after like/unlike, and the paragraph means only prepositional phrase construction such as "Like on the table, Y..." (a prep phrase without modifying a noun) is wrong?

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Yes, it's fine to add a modifier to a noun after 'like', but, as you say, the phrase 'Like on the table...' would be incorrect.

The point is that the word 'like' is used to compare nouns, so that the basic structure is 'Like NOUN, NOUN...'. We can add modifiers to this construction, as in SC 880 from OG 2020. Actually, the word 'company's' is a modifier here. Here's another (correct) example, in which I've added lots of modifiers to the simple noun comparison:

Like the sad-looking red football on the street, which has been there all day, the bicycle by the tree seems to be abandoned.

[LIK WONGL738]

Great example indeed, thanks!

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

You're welcome.