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
To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list"
Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ |