As Well As Comma: In Grammatical rules and sentence structures, mistakes are inevitable unless you have memorized and followed the many norms in the English language. Even so, “As well as” has become a staple of administrative and professional writing. When it comes to its usage, there are two common mistakes. Using the phrase “as well as” can cause two common problems. However, “as well as” can be misunderstood for “and,” which is a different word. The second issue is with the verb that comes after “as well as.” When using commas in conjunctions, use them correctly. This seemingly insignificant detail could completely alter the meaning of the phrase or text. Because of this, it is essential to know the standards for putting a comma and not putting one. Here, we’re going to discuss the proper use of commas when paired with conjunctions and prepositions.
- Is This a Straight Forward Comparative Analysis?
- Are You Replacing The Phrase “In Addition To” With Something Else?
- Is It Possible To Remove The Clause?
- Is the Clause Necessary or Not?
- Is “As Well As” a good substitute for “And”?
- Conclusion on As Well As Comma
Is This a Straight Forward Comparative Analysis?
Is this a direct comparison, or is there more to it? If you answered affirmatively, you’ve saved yourself a lot of grief. There is no need for a comma when comparing two things using the phrase “as well as.”
Some examples:
- Can Harry run as well as I do?
- She writes as well as an aunt.
- She plays as well as she did five years ago.
Second, “as,” when used in the comparison, functions as a coordinating conjunction. When subordinating conjunction appears in the middle of sentences, commas are not required. That’s why others rule them. In the end, “as well as” will always be used in the middle of a sentence. “As well as she did five years ago, she plays” could be a weird statement to make. “As well as,” on the other hand, means that commas are unnecessary in comparison.
Are You Replacing The Phrase “In Addition To” With Something Else?
When “as well as” is substituted for “in addition to,” you’ve created a phrasal preposition. These sentences can be punctuated differently depending on the situation. To determine whether or not you should use commas in your writing, you should ask yourself a series of questions. You’ll first need to pinpoint the clause wherein the phrase “as well as” is used.
His father, as well as his grandfather, uses Instagram.
You’ll be examining the phrase “as well as his grandfather” in the preceding example to determine if it’s necessary to the sentence.
Is It Possible To Remove The Clause?
To determine if a clause is restrictive or non-restrictive, ask yourself if you can still remove it without changing the sentence’s meaning or structure. In contrast to a non-restrictive clause, a restrictive clause is an essential part of the sentence. Nonessential clauses are those that can be put in parenthesis easily.
An appositive is an example of a non-restrictive clause. The word before an appositive is renamed without altering the sentence’s meaning by an appositive.
It is widely accepted that the puppy, Canis familiaris, was among the first domesticated animals.
“Canis familiaris” is a non-restrictive appositive phrase in the preceding example. The structure and meaning of the statement aren’t dependent on it. Commas must be placed at the beginning and end of all non-restrictive clauses.
Consider the following sentence, which contains the phrase “as well as,” used as a preposition together within the non-restrictive clause.
- His father, as well as his grandfather, uses Instagram.
- His father, as well as his grandfather, uses Instagram.
We’ll see what happens if we take out the clause.
- His father…uses Instagram.
“As well as his grandfather” is appropriate between two commas in this sentence because it is grammatically feasible and complete.
Is the Clause Necessary or Not?
Let’s imagine that you wanted to convey the meaning of the phrase differently so that the reader would know that the grandfather was an essential part of it.
You could rephrase it as follows:
- His father, as well as his grandfather, use Instagram.
The conjunction “as well as” is now being used in the preceding sentence as a coordinating conjunction. The verdict is rendered meaningless if you remove the grandfather’s clause.
- His father… use Instagram.
No. That’s not going to work. The clause cannot be removed from the new sentence structure because of the new sentence construction. Commas are no longer appropriate because we’re dealing with a restricted clause. The phrase “as well as” replaces the coordinating conjunction “and” in this example.
- His father, as well as his grandfather, use Instagram.
- His father and his grandfather use Instagram.
Because many grammar experts disagree that “as well as” can be used to form coordinating conjunction, they wouldn’t consider it appropriate to do so in this instance.
Is “As Well As” a good substitute for “And”?
In many cases, “as well as” should not be used as a substitute for “and,” and it is essential to keep that in mind. To avoid a comma splice, you can use the word “and” to connect two independent clauses.
He loved the water, and she favoured the shore.
Readers would be misled if “and” were swapped out for “as well as” in this context. You may also use “and” after a semicolon in a more complex sentence. After a semicolon, “as well as” is not appropriate.
In a list, “and” is frequently used. You should treat “as well as” differently than “and” if you use it in this context. Using an Oxford comma, the following list would be possible:
He loves potato chips, muffins, nachos, and cheesecake.
Instead of “as well as,” you should use the phrase “in addition” in this list.
He loves potato chips, muffins, and nachos, as well as cheesecake.
To separate “nachos” from “and,” we’ve used a serial comma in the first sentence. There are two commas after “and” and “as well as” in the second example. The serial comma would go-between “nachos” and “muffins,” and then another comma would come before the omission of “cheesecake.”
Conclusion on As Well As Comma
Comma usage may become an issue when using the phrase “as well” in conjunction with other words. A comma should not be used before or after the conjunction as a general rule. It’s not uncommon for seemingly insignificant details like commas to have an unexpected impact on the intended meaning of a sentence. People may not be aware of the exact rules for using commas. The phrase “as well as” can be tricky to understand, which is why it must always be double-checked when used in professional writing.