as well as

[christation]

Gorillas are clever animals, as well as they are capable of making about 20 different sounds.
Can we utilize ¡°as well as¡± like this? That is to say, can ¡°as well as¡± be used to connect two sentences?

[MaliciousHUT]

yeah we can!
In my thought, "..As well as.." can be used as " and.."

[muaxuan68]

Originally posted by christation

Gorillas are clever animals, as well as they are capable of making about 20 different sounds.

In my thought, "..As well as.." can be used as " and..

hi all,

Do you all agree that "as well as" can begin a clause?

[Erin]

Gorillas are clever animals, as well as and they are capable of making about 20 different sounds.

"as well as" is NOT a perfect substitute for "and," and in this sentence, it is wrong.

Off the top of my head, I'd say that we most commonly use "as well as" to join series of things (since "as well as" is used to include something that's a little bit surprising, kind of like "even"). For example:

Megumi is smart, successful, as well as humble.

Do you want beer, wine, or whiskey? I'd like beer, wine, as well as whisky!!

Again off the top of my head, I can't think of a way to use it to join sentences.

[muaxuan68]

Hi Erin,
Thanks for your confirmation.

what about the following?

As well as giving me 200 dollars, he lent me his red car.

== >>He gave me 200 dolars as well as lent me his red car.

As well as sending him a letter by post, I informed him of the news by email.

==> I sent him a letter by post as well as informed him of the news by email.


Is that right, Erin? if yes, what do we call "as well as" here"?
"prepositional phrase" ?
edited for a better version!

[Erin]

I think you like English idioms/expressions, so here's one for you:

If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, then it's a duck.

That's a good one to know for grammar.

Originally posted by muaxuan68

As well as giving me 200 dollars, he lent me his red car.

Well, since this phrase is followed by a gerund (which is always a noun), and it is similar in meaning to the preposition "in addition to," it's safe to say that this is a preposition.

Originally posted by muaxuan68

== >>He gave me 200 dolars as well as lent me his red car.

Must be a conjunction since it's joining "gave..." and "lent..."

*quack* *quack*

Originally posted by muaxuan68

As well as sending him a letter by post, I informed him of the news by email.

==> I sent him a letter by post as well as informed him of the news by email.

More quacks. Same as above--preposition and conjunction.