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coupled with, as well as, along with, together with, not to mention

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  Ed Good  —  Grammar Tips
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Expressions such as coupled with, as well as, along with, together with, not to mention, and others do not act as coordinating conjunctions. Therefore, when you use these expressions to join one singular subject of a sentence with another noun or pronoun, you do not form a plural subject. The verb should appear in the singular.

Consider these incorrect sentences:

Senator Jones along with his wife want to purchase the beach house. The CEO not to mention the 25 board members have decided to scrap the project.

The subjects of those sentences—“Senator Jones” and “the CEO”—are singular and require the singular verbs wants and has decided.

Of course, the writer might have written the following correct sentences:

Senator Jones and his wife want to purchase the beach house. The CEO and the 25 board members have decided to scrap the project.

You’ll find a complete discussion of this problem in the Common Grammatical Mistakes section of Grammar.com. Click here for the beginning of that discussion.

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3 Comments
  • huanle
    But if there is a "together" before verb, is it ok to use singular form verb?

    Overproduction, coupled with falling sales, has led to huge losses for the company.

    Overproduction, coupled with falling sales, together have led to huge losses for the company.

    Are the above two sentences right?
     
    LikeReply 12 years ago
    • Soulwriter
      Great question! The first sentence is correct. The second is not incorrect, however it doesn't grammatically 'flow' given the use of 'coupled with' and then 'together' used soon afterwards. There is no need to use the word 'together' as 'coupled with' has already been used correctly. Therefore it makes much more sense to use the first sentence. 
      LikeReply 42 years ago
  • dngt.91000
    So is it "I together with him" or "I together with he"?
    LikeReply3 years ago
    • Soulwriter
      I together with *insert pronoun here*
      LikeReply2 years ago
  • Jennifer Dallas
    Jennifer Dallas
    is it correct to say you along with Mr. and Mrs Brown are invited to the meeting.
    LikeReply 33 years ago
    • Cinthia McCracken
      Cinthia McCracken
      Yes, that is correct. But it is not because "along with Mr. and Mrs. Brown" turned it into a plural subject. Instead, it is because "You are" is the natural way to word both singular and plural "You."
      LikeReply 83 years ago

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Quiz

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Identify the sentence with correct use of the coordinating conjunction:
A I want to go, so he stays.
B The movie was boring, for it had a weak plot.
C She likes both swimming and hiking.
D He is tall, nor his brother is short.

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