A quick look at a few dictionaries shows that "as well as" can be both
preposition and conjunction. A quick google search shows a huge number
of examples of "as well as" as conjunction, but not in the subject
slot, which may be a reaction to the usage difficulties around it. I
won't have access to the OED until tomorrow.
Typically, Merriam-Webster college dictionary lists "brave as well as
loyal" as an example of "as well as" as conjunction.
Why we would have to treat a compound so created as singular in subject
slot is beyond me.
Craig
Hi again everyone,
>
> I have another reference: A Writer's Resource (second edition) by
> Maimon, Peritz, and
> Yancey. The authors warn, "[do] not lose sight of the subject when a word
> group separates it from the verb" and "[i]f a word group beginning
> with as well as, along with, or in addition to follows a singular subject,
> the subject does not become plural" (478).
> Their example: My teacher, as well as other faculty members, opposes
> the new school policy.
>
> --- On Mon, 6/16/08, Michael Keith Pen Ultimate Rare Books
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> From: Michael Keith Pen Ultimate Rare Books <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: a subject-verb-agreement question
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Monday, June 16, 2008, 11:29 AM
>
>
>
>
> Morning everyone
>
> I might have predicted that my very first ATEG post would get me into
> trouble. So cool to find some colleagues who actually care about
> such things!
>
> Unfortunately, Dick, I cannot yet cite an authority for you. Indeed
> two of my own favorite authorities, Foerster & Steadman, in Writing
> and Thinking, suggest that my usage is appropriate "only in informal,
> colloquial discourse" though they seem to waver on that principle
> elsewhere in W&T. F&S call this sentence, "He, as
> well as his friends, was present" right but awkward. I suspect
> they'd use the same classification for the S&W sentence. Though
> without those commas, it strikes me that "as well as" means simply
> "and."
>
> I'll forward the question to one of my teachers, Lynn Troyka. Maybe
> we can get some consensus from her.
>
> BTW, Craig, I offered up "objective" a bit
> prematurely. I'm still working out that theory, but I'll get back to
> you.
>
> Michael
>
>
> -------------- Original message from "Veit, Richard"
> <[log in to unmask]>: --------------
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Michael,
>
> You are saying that you disagree with Strunk and White (quoted by Carol
> below). Are there equivalent authorities you can cite? I am not saying
> “authorities” are ipso facto right (for example, you can still find
> textbooks that pronounce it ungrammatical to end a sentence with a
> preposition), but in matters like this there is often an agreed upon
> consensus.
>
> Dick
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael Keith Pen Ultimate
> Rare Books
> Sent: Sunday, June 15, 2008 11:30 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: a subject-verb-agreement question
>
>
> Dick et al
>
>
>
> Ask yourself why "his speech as well as his manners is objectionable"
> doesn't sound right. In that sentence I suspect that "as well as his
> manners" serves as a delayed, emphatic additional subject--something akin
> to: also especially his manners!--and is therefore and thereby
> plural. Remember, if the subject is plural, the verb should be
> as well. Many subjects succeeded by "as well as" are intended
> indeed to be singular. The subject/example you provided, in most
> contexts, emphatically is NOT. Grammar, like language and concepts,
> is contextual and objective.
>
>
>
> Michael
>
> -------------- Original message from "Veit, Richard"
> <[log in to unmask]>: --------------
> Thanks, Carol. That is most helpful. Is it is. I knew that intellectually
> but wish it sounded right too. For example, change “manner” to “manners”
> in the Strunk and White example and it doesn’t seem as clear cut: "His
> speech as well as his manners is objectionable."
>
> Dick Veit
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Carol Morrison
> Sent: Sunday, June 15, 2008 4:11 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: a subject-verb-agreement question
>
>
>
>
>
> According to Strunk and White in The Elements of Style, "[a] singular
> subject remains singular even if other nouns are connected to it by with,
> as well as, in addition to, except, together with, and no less than (21).
> So I believe that your last example would take the verb "is". Strunk and
> White give the following example: "His speech as well as his manner
> is objectionable" (21).
> I'm not sure if the comma between "society at large" and "as well as"
> changes that in your sentence though.
>
> --- On Sun, 6/15/08, Veit, Richard <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> From: Veit, Richard <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: a subject-verb-agreement question
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Sunday, June 15, 2008, 3:32 PM
>
>
> A little help, please, with subject/verb agreement in a sentence. These I
> have no trouble with:
>
>
> Good policy will come when society at large is educated about HPV.
> Good policy will come when at-risk individuals are educated about HPV.
> Good policy will come when society at large and at-risk individuals are
> educated about HPV.
>
> And pretty sure about this:
>
>
> Good policy will come when society at large (not just at-risk individuals)
> is educated about HPV.
>
> But what about this one?
>
>
> Good policy will come when society at large, as well as at-risk
> individuals, is/are educated about HPV.
>
> Do the commas make the second phrase an aside so that the verb should
> agree with “society” only (i.e., “is”)? Or do we treat “as well as” as
> equivalent to “and,” making “are” the right choice? I seek your informed
> guidance on the matter. Any specific reference to authority is especially
> welcome.
>
> Dick
> ________________________________
> Richard Veit
> Department of English
> University of North Carolina Wilmington
>
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