Akeem Lasisi
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Although ‘and’ and ‘as well as’ are used to connect two or more words, there is a major difference in their grammatical statuses. The difference is such that while it is correct to say ‘The doctor and the nurse have arrived’, it is wrong to say ‘The doctor as well as the nurse have arrived.”
The fact is that ‘and’ is a coordinating conjunction used to join two or more words, phrases and clauses. It enjoys a full connector status to the extent that once it joins two elements that form the subject of a clause, a plural verb (like have) has to follow it. Here are more examples:
The boy and the girl are doing the work.
A belt and a wristwatch are all I need.
Mr Lasisi and his co-workers have been sent abroad.
Maruf and Joseph go there regularly.
The examples establish a principle that many people, including schoolchildren, know. But there is a landmine somewhere. When ‘as well as’ is used instead of ‘and’ we normally go for the singular verb. This is particularly the case when the first element in the conjoined subject is singular. This means that in the examples given above, plural verbs are out of the game. So, the correct expressions are:
The boy as well as the girl is doing the work.
A belt as well as a wristwatch is all I need.
Mr Lasisi as well as his co-workers has been sent abroad.
Maruf as well as Joseph goes there regularly.
This is the principle you should always follow when the subject first mentioned is singular. Note that even if the second element in the compound subject is plural, the verb still remains singular:
Mr Lawal as well as two other members of the staff has been laid off.
A table as well as three beds is enough.
On the other hand, plural verbs are chosen if the first part of the subject is plural:
The twins as well as their father are coming.
All the workers as well as Mr Lawal have gone home.
Remember that if ‘and’ is used, the plural verb follows no matter the number of the element on the other side of the subject. The reason is that ‘and’ is considered a full conjunction while ‘as well as’ is considered to have a less weighty status.
There are some other expressions you should treat as ‘as well as’:
The woman, together with her husband, is here.
The woman, together with her baby, likes rice and stew.
The little girl, in company with their mother, is here.
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The twin brother, together with his younger brother, has arrived.
