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In the sentence:

My car as well as my lap top were stolen last night.

What part of speech are the words in the phrase as well as?

I believe the first as is the preposition of the phrase, that well is an adverb, and that the last as is again a preposition. But I am not sure.

Or do the three words function together as a syntactic element? If so, what would that be called?

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  • 'were' should be replaced by 'was' .
    – Sudhir
    Dec 7, 2012 at 17:23
  • Not according to retired Professor of Linguistics John Lawler below.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Dec 7, 2012 at 17:37

4 Answers 4

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In the example you have provided, as well as functions as a coordinating conjunction replacing and. See:

  • They stole my car as well as my laptop.

  • They stole my car and my laptop.

The entire phrase is a synonym for and.

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    Yes. And you can show that it's a coordinating conjunction because it produces a constituent that can govern plural verb agreement: My car as well as my laptop were stolen. In addition to works the same way; but subordinating conjunctions like after don't have that property: *My car, after my laptop, were stolen.
    – John Lawler
    Dec 6, 2012 at 21:48
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    @JohnLawler: I say "Mac and cheese is my favorite" because it sounds right, but is it? I was comparing it to "PB&J is my favorite", but that's different because PB&J refers to the entire sandwhich, which is singular.
    – tylerharms
    Dec 7, 2012 at 9:01
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    I defy you to separate the cheese from the mac more easily than the pb from the j. Anyway, it isn't about the meaning -- this is a grammatical fact: mac and cheese is a fixed phrase, just like pb&j. Trust your native intuition: if it sounds right to a native speaker, it is right, for their idiolect. For other opinions and other contexts, consult your favorite guru, maven, or mullah.
    – John Lawler
    Dec 7, 2012 at 15:12
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As well as is a substitute for and, so the verb were is correct. If as well as was, actually, a non-essential phrase (a parenthetical element that doesn't alter the meaning of the independent clause), and set off in commas, then the singular conjugation was would be the correct verb. As it is, the synonym for and (coordinating conjunction) takes the plural conjugation.

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  • I should have said that, since as well as is a substitute for and, a coordinating conjunction, the subject is compound, and the verb were is correct for that compound subject.
    – mattie
    May 28, 2013 at 16:46
  • Welcome to E.SE. You can edit your own answer; but is there anything original here which has not appeared in the older answer with its comments? (And when you want to use individual words/phrases like as well as and and and were, use italics.)
    – Andrew Leach ♦
    May 28, 2013 at 16:49
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"As well as" is a prepositional phrase that functions like a conjunction. That doesn't make it a conjunction, technically. The result of the prepositional phrase means the same thing as the conjunction functionally, but it's literally saying that x is "as well as" y.

In that light it's not a conjunction, even though it has the effect of "and" if you choose to read it that way.

On the other hand you could understand it as a colloquial phrase that has been stripped of its prepositional value. In some cases, this may be the easier route... though not necessarily not so much correct. But, what's correct when the speaker doesn't know the difference?

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As well as" is a prepositional phrase that functions like a conjunction. That doesn't make it a conjunction, technically. The result of the prepositional phrase means the same thing as the conjunction functionally, but it's literally saying that x is "as well as".

Precisely.

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    Can you edit a bit your answer so that we can understand what you mean? It helps if you also give more clear examples and support your answer with links to your research.
    – fev
    Dec 14, 2020 at 7:38

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