Use “The manager, together with her assistants, is reviewing the file” in ordinary edited English. The accompanying phrase does not make manager plural. Compare “The manager and her assistants are reviewing the file,” where and joins the two subject elements. This guide explains the agreement pattern, its limits and what the grammar does not tell us about the people involved.
A nearby plural noun can distract from the head of a subject phrase. In “The manager, together with her assistants, is reviewing the file,” temporarily set aside together with her assistants. The remaining pattern is “The manager is reviewing the file.” This is a check on the construction, not evidence from personal editing or classroom experience.
To use these patterns correctly, you need three key terms. A compound subject usually means two or more subjects joined by a coordinator such as and, as in “Maya and Leo are presenting.” Subject-verb agreement means the verb form matches the grammatical number of the subject. A parenthetical addition is an inserted phrase that adds information without changing the core agreement pattern. In standard usage, as well as, along with, together with, in addition to, and similar expressions often function as parenthetical additions rather than true coordinators.
What counts as a compound subject in sentence structure
With two distinct people joined by and, ordinary agreement is plural: “The teacher and the principal are meeting.” An accompanying phrase works differently: “The teacher, as well as the principal, is meeting parents.” Do not extend the and rule to every possible meaning. “Our writer and editor is speaking” can refer to one person with two roles; when it means two people, a plural verb is appropriate.
For these accompanying phrases, remove the insertion temporarily and check the remaining subject and verb: “The teacher is meeting parents.” Then restore it: “The teacher, as well as the principal, is meeting parents.” Agreement with a distracting nearby noun is often called attraction; identifying the relevant head helps you check the intended form.
In this construction, choose the verb for the head of the main subject phrase, not the nearest noun. “The list of changes is attached” has singular list. This is not an exceptionless rule for every type of subject. With either … or and neither … nor, for example, agreement with the nearer coordinated element is a common pattern when the elements differ in number.
Agreement rules for as well as, together with, and similar phrases
The standard rule is direct: when a singular subject is followed by as well as, together with, along with, or in addition to, use a singular verb. Example: “The editor, along with two interns, approves the schedule.” When the main subject is plural, use a plural verb: “The editors, along with two interns, approve the schedule.” The added phrase does not alter number; it only adds accompanying information.
An accompanying phrase can mention several people while the main subject remains singular: “The CEO, as well as the board members, supports the proposal.” “The CEO and the board members support the proposal” instead presents a coordinated subject. Both include the board members in the statement. Neither form establishes their relative authority or how they reached a decision.
An inserted supplementary phrase is commonly enclosed by paired commas: “Jordan, together with his cousins, is travelling.” The commas help mark its boundaries, but they do not create the agreement rule. If punctuation is unclear, identify how the phrase functions and revise the whole sentence rather than using a comma alone to choose is or are.
| Structure | Example | Correct Verb | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| True compound subject with and | The coach and the captain ___ ready. | are | Two equal subjects form a plural subject. |
| Singular subject + as well as | The coach, as well as the captain, ___ ready. | is | The head subject is singular. |
| Singular subject + together with | The coach, together with the players, ___ ready. | is | The added phrase does not change agreement. |
| Plural subject + along with | The coaches, along with the trainer, ___ ready. | are | The head subject is plural. |
Why writers make agreement mistakes in these constructions
Compare “The introduction, together with the notes, was revised” with “The introduction and the notes were revised.” In the first, singular introduction controls was; in the second, the coordinated subject takes were. This demonstrates the formal agreement contrast without making an unsupported claim about how often particular speakers make errors.
Meaning can suggest several participants even when the main subject is grammatically singular. Check the actual construction before choosing the verb. Do not rely on a claim that a particular software checker will always catch, or will regularly miss, this pattern; no such tool test is reported here.
A third cause is confusion between notional agreement and formal agreement. English sometimes allows notional agreement, especially with collective nouns in British usage, as in “The team are winning.” But phrases like as well as still do not usually create a plural subject in standard edited English. If you want plural agreement beyond doubt, choose a genuine compound subject with and or rewrite the sentence for simplicity.
How these patterns connect to the wider sentence structure hub
This topic belongs at the center of sentence structure because it touches nearly every major pattern. First, it teaches writers to identify the head of the subject phrase. That skill carries into articles on simple subjects, complete subjects, and interrupted subjects. Second, it clarifies how modifiers work. Phrases beginning with as well as and together with behave much like interrupting modifiers: they add detail, but they do not become the grammatical engine of the clause.
Related topics need their own checks. An accompanying phrase is not the same as neither … nor, and punctuation is not a substitute for identifying the subject. If an insertion makes a sentence difficult to follow, shorten it or split the information into separate sentences while checking that the intended meaning remains.
In practical terms, this hub should lead readers to related subtopics such as subject-verb agreement, phrases versus clauses, appositives, interrupting elements, parallel structure, and sentence clarity. Mastering one pattern in isolation helps, but mastering the system matters more. Sentence structure is not a list of separate rules; it is a method of seeing how grammatical parts relate to each other inside a complete thought.
Best practices, exceptions, and editing strategies
The safest practice is simple: if you mean a true joint subject, use and; if you mean an added companion element, use as well as or together with and keep the verb aligned with the head subject. This choice also affects emphasis. “The founder and the designers are attending” highlights equal participation. “The founder, together with the designers, is attending” keeps the focus on the founder.
There are stylistic gray areas. In informal speech, people sometimes use plural verbs after these expressions because the meaning feels collective. You will hear sentences like “The singer, along with her band, are touring.” In conversation, that may pass unnoticed. In formal writing, however, most editors change it to is touring or recast the sentence entirely. Consistency with standard agreement is the stronger choice for publication, academic work, and workplace documents.
During revision, identify the head subject, set aside the accompanying phrase, check the verb, then restore the phrase and review the meaning. If you choose an and rewrite, check its new subject rather than retaining the old verb automatically. This is an editing procedure, not a measured claim about reader performance.
The central contrast is between an accompanying phrase and a coordinated subject. “The coach, along with the players, is waiting” follows the main singular head. “The coach and the players are waiting” has a plural subject. Some and combinations describe one person or one unit, so meaning still matters; the presence of and is not enough by itself to settle every case.
Use a singular or plural verb with the main subject when as well as, together with or along with introduces accompanying information. The University of Wisconsin–Madison agreement guide explains this contrast. The Language Portal of Canada gives the distinct-person and single-unit cases with and.
Practise by comparing the original table’s subject and verb choices. Identify the main head before checking the answer column, then explain why the added phrase does or does not change the subject’s number. Keep the same meaning when writing a version of your own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do phrases like “as well as” and “together with” create a plural subject?
No. In standard English grammar, phrases such as as well as and together with do not usually turn a singular subject into a plural one. They add extra information about who or what is included, but they do not function the same way as and. That is the key agreement rule. If the main subject is singular, the verb is usually singular: The manager, as well as the assistants, is attending the meeting. If the main subject is plural, the verb is usually plural: The managers, together with the assistants, are attending the meeting.
This matters because many writers instinctively focus on the noun nearest the verb rather than the true grammatical subject. That often leads to errors such as The manager, as well as the assistants, are attending, which sounds natural to some ears but does not follow formal agreement conventions. In academic writing, professional communication, journalism, and test settings, readers generally expect the verb to agree with the main subject alone. A useful test is to temporarily remove the inserted phrase. If the sentence still makes sense, the remaining subject will show you the correct verb form: The manager is attending. That confirms is, not are.
How is “as well as” different from “and” in subject-verb agreement?
The difference is grammatical as well as stylistic. The conjunction and usually joins two subjects into one compound plural subject, so it normally takes a plural verb: The editor and the publisher are in agreement. By contrast, as well as introduces an accompanying element rather than forming an equal grammatical partnership. In formal usage, the first noun remains the true subject: The editor, as well as the publisher, is in agreement.
The constructions organise the participants differently: and coordinates them, while an accompanying phrase adds information to a sentence built around another head. That distinction does not establish which participant has greater practical importance. Check the whole statement before replacing one construction with the other.
What is the easiest way to choose the correct verb when a sentence includes “together with” or “as well as”?
The simplest method is to identify the main subject and ignore the inserted phrase for a moment. Writers often get distracted by the noun closest to the verb, but proximity does not control agreement in this construction. The controlling noun is the head of the subject phrase, usually the noun that appears before as well as or together with. For example, in The principal, together with several teachers, was present, the main subject is principal, so the verb is singular: was.
A reliable editing technique is to remove the interrupting phrase and read the sentence again. The principal was present clearly sounds correct, so that confirms the agreement. The same strategy works in plural cases: The principals, as well as several teachers, were present. Remove the added phrase and you get The principals were present. This approach is especially helpful in long or complex sentences, where extra modifiers can hide the real subject. It is also useful in timed exams and professional editing because it reduces the decision to one question: what is the true subject, singular or plural? Once that is clear, the correct verb choice usually becomes obvious.
Are there situations where writers use plural agreement after “as well as” or “together with”?
You may encounter plural agreement after a singular head with an accompanying phrase. For the ordinary edited pattern taught here, use the main head: “The coach, as well as the players, is excited.” Distinguish this from a collective-noun choice such as British English “The team are excited,” which involves a different kind of subject.
With a plural main subject, the same rule gives “The coaches, as well as the players, are excited.” If the phrase is intended to form a genuine coordinated subject instead, write and and recheck the agreement. Follow a relevant house style without treating a disagreement about form as evidence of a speaker’s competence or intent.
Why is this rule so important in academic, business, and exam writing?
For the examples here, verify the head, the accompanying phrase and the verb separately. A singular verb after singular director fits the construction; a plural verb after director and advisers fits the coordinated subject. That grammatical result does not measure professionalism, predict examination marks or validate the statement’s factual content.
“The director, as well as the advisers, approves the policy” includes the advisers in the statement while building the clause around director. “The director and the advisers approve the policy” uses coordination. Neither sentence alone identifies a principal decision-maker, proves shared legal authority or explains the approval process. Those conclusions require context beyond subject–verb agreement.
