"as well as" vs "and"

Dear TIA,

I'm happy to help.

First of all, "X and Y" is parallel structure, and both elements are regarded equally. In the construction "X as well as Y," X is the main focus and Y is an afterthought, of secondary importance: they are definitely not presented rhetorically as equals. This second structure is NOT parallelism.

Similarly, we would have "X and Y do P," plural verb, because "and" makes a plural subject even if X and Y are singular. That's called a compound subject. By contrast, we would have "X as well as Y does P,," singular verb, because "as well as" creates what is called an additive phrase, a noun modifier that is not considered part of the subject. See:
Compound Subjects & Additive Phrases

We could join more than two with either, but again, several element joined by "and" are all of equal rank, equal importance. If I join some element by "and" and other by "as well as," this is a rhetorical caste system, with the elements after "as well as" of lesser importance.

Joyce, Pynchon, and Vonnegut are important novelists of the 20th century.

That sentence presents the three authors as equally important.

The bookstore sells novels by Hemingway and Fitzgerald, as well as by Erich Segal and Mickey Spillane.

There is a subtle hint of judgment in that sentence: the works of Hemingway and Fitzgerald are put on a slightly higher level than the works of Erich Segal and Mickey Spillane.

Does all this make sense?
Mike
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TWO COMMON PROBLEMS
There are two common problems with the use of as well as. The first one relates to its meaning — as well as is often used as a synonym for and, which it is not.

Swedish is spoken in Sweden, as well as in parts of Finland. [incorrect]

The second problem concerns the form of the verb following as well as. Can you find the mistakes in the following sentences?

John, as well as Mary, want to drop the course. [incorrect]
Running is healthy as well as it makes you feel good. [incorrect]
Sarah draws as well as designs clothes. [incorrect]

AS WELL AS IS NOT A SYNONYM FOR AND
As well as cannot be used to mean and. The expression X as well as Y means not only Y but also X (note that X and Y are reversed). While and simply conjoins two (or more) expressions, as well as places unequal emphasis on the two expressions — the expression preceding as well as carries a stronger emphasis than the expression following it.

John, as well as Mary, came to the party. [not only Mary but also John; emphasis on John]
The programme aims to recruit Sami students as well as students from other countries. [not only students from other countries but also Sami students; emphasis on Sami students]

Now you see that the sentence:

Swedish is spoken in Sweden, as well as in parts of Finland. [incorrect]

means:

Swedish is spoken not only in parts of Finland, but also in Sweden. [Imagine! What a surprise!]

It is therefore wrong to use as well as simply in order to avoid a repetition of and, as in the sentence below.

The university focuses on education, research and development, as well as dissemination. [incorrect if all three areas are equally important and none is to be emphasized]

AS WELL AS DOES NOT MAKE SUBJECTS PLURAL
In the sentence

John, as well as Mary, want to drop the course. [incorrect]

the verb want must agree with the noun preceding as well as in this case.

John, as well as Mary, wants to drop the course. [correct]

In other words, when as well as is part of the subject, the verb must agree with the noun before as well as.

VERBS AFTER AS WELL AS COME IN –ING FORM
When we put a verb after as well as, we use the -ing form of the verb. (This might sound really strange to a non-native speaker, but the grammar books agree on this.)

Running is healthy as well as making you feel good.
He broke the window, as well as destroying the wall.
She draws as well as designing clothes.

Note the difference between the last sentence and the next one:

She draws as well as she designs clothes.
[Her drawing is as good as her designing]
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Dear Farrell,
My colleague, thank you for your contribution to this discussion.

I agree that "as well as" creates a dichotomous contrast, but I think it might be a bit misleading to say that it is "for only two things." Instead, it could be used to separate a group of multiple elements into two different rhetorical levels:

1) He likes Baroque choral music, 19th century chamber music, 1980's punk, and gangsta rap.
2) He likes Baroque choral music and 19th century chamber music, as well as 1980's punk and gangsta rap.

Sentence #1 simply puts the four genres side by side as equals. Sentence #2 creates a subtle rhetorical division between the former two and the latter two; it could be that the speaker of #2 implies some judgments about the latter two. We get this hint of judgment in #2, whereas it's entirely absent in #1.

I think it's very safe to say that the "vs." structure will not ever appear on the GMAT SC.

Respectfully,
Mike McGarry
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As well as is for only two things, and is for two or more things, and vs. Is for 2 things where there's a contrast ie dogs vs. Cats.

Farrell Dyan Hehn, MBA
Admissions Consultant & Verbal Strategist MBAPrepCoach.com
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AND

'And' connects two or more than two subjects. And compound subjects are always plural. In example below both Xavier and Sarah are subjects.
Ex: Xavier and Sarah play electric guitar.

AS WELL AS

'As Well As' is used as modifier for Sarah. Only Xavier is the subject here.
Ex: Xavier, as well as Sarah, plays electric guitar.



Cheers!

I don't know where you saw this sentence, but it should say "failures of governance" rather than "governance failures"; let's just pretend that's what it says. (This difference is stylistic, and therefore lies outside the scope of the GMAT exam.)



Yes, these constructions can work—as long as there are clear logical reasons for how the words are divided/separated.
There are two deviations from just throwing everything into a simple list, so, let's examine whether there's a good reason for each of them:


• Failures of governance vs. everything else in the list (separated by "as well as"):

This division makes sense. Failures of governance occur in government, not among random citizens; the rest of the items in the list involve random citizens, not the government.


• Armed conflicts and civil wars together as a single list item:

This choice is also sensible. Grouping these two types of organized violence together creates a list of "2 types of organized violence, 1 type of political movement, and the rise of 2 philosophies"—in which the organizational rationale for grouping the two types of violence, and for grouping the two philosophies, is clear.

Jack and Jill drink milk every day

When we added Jill to Jack by using and, we turned the subject from singular into plural. The word and is the only way of adding that turns a singular subject into plural. When we use other ways of combining subjects, such as together with or in addition to, the subject is whatever comes before the phrase between commas or is otherwise outside of that phrase:
Milk, together with sugar, is the basis for every good ice cream. In addition to sugar, milk is the basis for every good ice cream.
More examples for additive phrases are: also, along with, as well as, accompanied by, including, and besides.

mikemcgarry What can be considered parallel? A,B,C, as well as D-ing or A,B, and C ,as well as D-ing? Thanks.

Why use as well as when and will work as well? There is no reason to do so. And that is why the GMAT generally avoids as well as.

Here is one official question that illustrates how the phrase COULD be used:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-ruined-str ... 06001.html

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Hi,

Is the usage of 'as well as' correct in below sentence. There are too many 'and' afterwards. Is it fine?

A global shift in the balance of power has created new geopolitical tensions, leading to governance failures AS WELL AS armed conflicts and civil wars, violent extremist movements, and the rise of ultra-nationalism and populism in many countries

Here's an Official Question that includes AS WELL AS. May provide some insight.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/as-well-as-h ... 86229.html
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