"As well as" places GREATER EMPHASIS on the first element than the second (A, and also B); "and" treats both elements equally. With "as well as", the verb agrees with the FIRST subject, not the combination.
AS WELL AS: additive conjunction meaning "in addition to" or "both...and," but with an important grammatical property: it is NOT COORDINATING like AND. With AS WELL AS, the FIRST element is the main one and the second is additional. This affects VERB AGREEMENT: "The manager AS WELL AS the team members IS responsible" = the manager (main subject) is responsible (singular verb — agrees with the manager, not the combination). "She AS WELL AS her colleagues WORKS from home" (singular verb). This rule contrasts with AND: "The manager AND the team members ARE responsible" (plural verb). AS WELL AS can also go at the end as an adverb: "She speaks French and German as well" = also (= too/also).
The CEO, as well as several board members, has expressed strong reservations about the pace of the international expansion.
The platform offers advanced analytics as well as a fully customizable reporting dashboard that integrates with all major CRM systems.
The candidate brings technical depth as well as a strategic communication style that will be valuable in client-facing leadership roles.
AND: COORDINATING conjunction joining two elements with EQUAL IMPORTANCE. Grammatically: A AND B = compound subject requiring PLURAL verb: "The manager AND the team members ARE responsible" (plural). AND is the most basic and frequent additive conjunction in English. It does not imply one element is more important than the other — it makes them equal. In lists: "A, B, and C" (Oxford comma before the final AND). Practical substitution: if you want both elements to have equal weight and the verb to be plural = AND. If the first element is the main one and the second is additional (parenthetical) = AS WELL AS.
The product manager and the lead engineer will co-present the technical roadmap to the steering committee at next week's review session.
Speed and reliability are the two attributes that enterprise clients consistently rank as their highest priorities when evaluating infrastructure providers.
The research team analyzed customer behavior data and competitor positioning across twelve markets before finalizing the go-to-market strategy.
Common mistake
The most important classic error: VERB AGREEMENT with AS WELL AS. "The director as well as his team ARE working on it" = INCORRECT if using AS WELL AS (the verb must agree with "the director" = singular). Correct: "The director, as well as his team, IS working on it." BUT: "The director AND his team ARE working on it" = CORRECT (AND makes a plural subject). The comma before and after "as well as" reinforces that the phrase is PARENTHETICAL (additional to the main subject): "The director, AS WELL AS his team, IS..." The confusion arises because semantically it seems to be several people, but grammatically AS WELL AS does not create a plural subject — the verb follows the FIRST subject.
Trick to remember it
The AGREEMENT TEST: mentally replace AS WELL AS with parentheses: "The director (as well as his team) is responsible." The real subject = "the director" (singular). The verb = singular. With AND there are no parentheses: "The director AND his team" = compound subject = plural. Easy rule: AS WELL AS = the verb agrees with what comes BEFORE the as well as. AND = the verb agrees with BOTH (plural). "The manager as well as the team [is/are]?" -> the manager (singular) -> IS. "The manager and the team [is/are]?" -> both (plural) -> ARE.
Quick rule
As well as = "in addition to" (the first is the main one). Verb agrees with the FIRST subject (singular if the first is singular). "The CEO, as well as the board, IS responsible." And = joins equally. Plural verb if both are the subject. "The CEO and the board ARE responsible."
Did you know?
The agreement rule of AS WELL AS is one of the grammatical points that most divides prescriptive grammarians and descriptive linguists. Formal English (style guides, legal English, academic writing) insists that AS WELL AS does not create a plural subject and that the verb must agree with the first element. However, in informal and journalistic English, plural agreement ("The CEO as well as the board are...") is extremely common, even among educated native speakers. The reason is pragmatic: when people think "the CEO and the board do something," the plural sense is so strong that the plural verb emerges naturally. This is another case where the "formal rule" reflects a distinction the human brain does not apply automatically, generating variation between standard written English and natural spoken English.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The CFO, as well as the heads of all four business units, _____ required to attend the annual strategy alignment workshop.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The legal team _____ the compliance officers reviewed all submitted documentation before the regulatory filing was approved.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
As well as = "in addition to" (the first is the main one). Verb agrees with the FIRST subject (singular if the first is singular). "The CEO, as well as the board, IS responsible." And = joins equally. Plural verb if both are the subject. "The CEO and the board ARE responsible."
The most important classic error: VERB AGREEMENT with AS WELL AS. "The director as well as his team ARE working on it" = INCORRECT if using AS WELL AS (the verb must agree with "the director" = singular). Correct: "The director, as well as his team, IS working on it." BUT: "The director AND his team ARE working on it" = CORRECT (AND makes a plural subject). The comma before and after "as well as" reinforces that the phrase is PARENTHETICAL (additional to the main subject): "The director, AS WELL AS his team, IS..." The confusion arises because semantically it seems to be several people, but grammatically AS WELL AS does not create a plural subject — the verb follows the FIRST subject.
The AGREEMENT TEST: mentally replace AS WELL AS with parentheses: "The director (as well as his team) is responsible." The real subject = "the director" (singular). The verb = singular. With AND there are no parentheses: "The director AND his team" = compound subject = plural. Easy rule: AS WELL AS = the verb agrees with what comes BEFORE the as well as. AND = the verb agrees with BOTH (plural). "The manager as well as the team [is/are]?" -> the manager (singular) -> IS. "The manager and the team [is/are]?" -> both (plural) -> ARE.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy