AS WELL AS + ing Or bare infinitive

[HSSEFL]

Hello dear members,

Just a short post to be helped as how to use the conjunction AS WELL AS with verbs.

I have always thought that using verbs take the ING form after the conjunction AS WELL AS until recently when I found that they may take the BARE INFINITIVE form too.

From what I have understood, we put the verb in the BARE INFINITIVE when the preceeding clause (before the conjunction) contains a verb in the INFINITIVE.

My question is whether or not I am true and If we happen to use one sample/ sentence and put it in the two cases, will the meaning stay the same ?

Let's work on this sentnece for example:


I take care of my domestic chores as well as going shopping twice a week.
I have to take care of my domestic chores as well as go shopping twice a day.


Is there a change in meaning? Is it just a matter of whether the preceeding clause contains a verb in the BARE INFINITIVE? I mean is that all?

 

[Raymott]

"My question is whether or not I am [STRIKE]true [/STRIKE] correct and ..."

"I take care of my domestic chores as well as going shopping twice a week."
"I have to take care of my domestic chores as well as go shopping twice a day."

No the sentences don't mean the same, but you've changed two places, which always makes a comparison difficult. The second sentence says you "have to" do something; the first only says that you do it."
Both sentences are correct.

If you want to post two sentences where only one variable changes, we can tell you if one is wrong.

 

[jutfrank]

Simply use the same form in the second part as in the first. In other words, keep things parallel.

Remember that if you use an -ing form, that technically makes the phrase a noun phrase (known as a 'gerund') rather than a verb.

It is my opinion that where many people get confused on this point is simply that it is much more likely that the conjunction as well as connects two noun phrases (including -ing phrases) than two clauses.

I play football as well as watch it.
I like to play football as well as (to) watch it.
I like playing football as well as watching it.


I play football as well as watching it. :cross:

 

[Raymott]

"I play football as well as watching it" is very common in AusE. That's not to say it's grammatically correct, of course.

 

[Rover_KE]

Yes – you'll hear it elsewhere, too, Alioua, but you should know how to use the correct construction.

 

[HSSEFL]

Hi

Thank you all for your replies

I have made a mistake in my post - I should have proofread it before posting it

Will you please give my sentence a second study - it is the following:


I take care of my domestic chores as well as going shopping twice a week. (no bare infinitive/ modal/ infinitive is included in this sentence) (so putting the verb after the conjunction in the ING form seems to be correct to me)

I take care of my domestic chores as well as go shopping twice a week. (the same sentence / same structure in the first clause - and I believe that putting the verb in the second clause in bare in bare infinitive is a big mistake)


I AM ALL EARS NOW

 

[Rover_KE]

Please use Edit Post to enlarge what you have reduced to microscopic size. I can't make it out.

 

[Heidi L]

Simply use the same form in the second part as in the first. In other words, keep things parallel.

Remember that if you use an -ing form, that technically makes the phrase a noun phrase (known as a 'gerund') rather than a verb.

It is my opinion that where many people get confused on this point is simply that it is much more likely that the conjunction as well as connects two noun phrases (including -ing phrases) than two clauses.

I play football as well as watch it.
I like to play football as well as (to) watch it.
I like playing football as well as watching it.


I play football as well as watching it. :cross:

An example sentence from https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/as-well-as-something-somebody

The organization gives help and support to people in need, as well as raising money for local charities.

According to your "parallel" rule, I guess "raising money for charities" can be interpreted as one thing in addition to "help and support to people in need" that the organization gives/provides. Am I correct?

And I guess, by the same rule, that we can also reword the sentence as "the organization gives help an support to people in need, as well as raises money for local charities." Am I right?

Thank you.

 

[jutfrank]

I take care of my domestic chores as well as go shopping twice a week. (the same sentence / same structure in the first clause - and I believe that putting the verb in the second clause in bare in bare infinitive is a big mistake)

The verb go in the second clause is not a bare infinitive. It is a finite verb—the first person singular conjugation.

An example sentence from https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/as-well-as-something-somebody

The organization gives help and support to people in need, as well as raising money for local charities.

According to your "parallel" rule, I guess "raising money for charities" can be interpreted as one thing in addition to "help and support to people in need" that the organization gives/provides. Am I correct?

No. I'm saying that the dictionary's example sentence is incorrect, strictly speaking. Apparently, it seems that other members here may not agree with me. I would like to hear any explanation as to why they think so. For what reason could a non-parallel structure be preferable to a parallel one?

I want to make it clear that when I say 'incorrect', I don't necessarily mean 'ungrammatical', but rather simply that a parallel structure is preferable for purposes of both elegance and coherence to a non-parallel one.

And I guess, by the same rule, that we can also reword the sentence as "the organization gives help an support to people in need, as well as raises money for local charities." Am I right?

Yes.

 

[jutfrank]

Feeling that one thing is preferable to another does not make the preferred choice correct and the other incorrect,

I disagree.

Our disagreement on this matter is evidence of our different uses of the word 'correct', which I am more than happy to discuss here. I wonder what you mean by 'correct'.

However, for purposes of clarification, when I say 'correct'/'incorrect' in this thread, what I mean is 'preferable'/'not preferable'. My main aim here is to advise the OP on how to use the language based on what I think is preferable. Please note that I am far from alone on this.

(Now I do also think I can make a decent case for non-parallel structures being ungrammatical too, but I do not wish to do so at this point.)

 

[bubbha]

"I play football as well as watching it" is very common in AusE. That's not to say it's grammatically correct, of course.

My friend from New Zealand does this too.

We sometimes work together on translation projects, and when I proofread his writings, I always change it so that the form of the verb after "as well as" matches that of the verb before "as well as".

 

[jutfrank]

I try not to use the word 'incorrect' of a structure that learners will see and hear speakers/writers of standard varieties using regularly.

Okay. My use of the word reflects a more prescriptive approach.

I use 'incorrect' of anything that would cause an IELTS or FCE/CAE examiner to raise an eyebrow.

That sounds reasonable, but it doesn't answer my question at all. It just pushes it away. You're saying that your idea of what is correct accords with that of Cambridge ESOL. There are reasons that something would raise an eyebrow. My question to you concerns those reasons. Now, although I am genuinely interested to discuss what those reasons may be, I don't think this thread is quite the right place. Since you challenged my use of the word incorrect in post #10, I in turn have challenged your use of the word in post #11.

For the purpose of addressing this thread, I hope I have clarified what I meant (see post #12).

My wife, formerly a Trinity examiner, has, like me, no objection to 'I like to play football as well as watching it'.

No objection at all? I find that somewhat surprising.

 

[HSSEFL]

Unfortunately, nobody has directly answered my question.

Anyway, I think I will make do with the conclusion I have come up with - and I hope it is correct.

Thank you all

 

[jutfrank]

Unfortunately, nobody has directly answered my question.

Which question? Perhaps you didn't ask it directly enough.

It seems to me that all the points in your original post have been dealt with.

 

[HSSEFL]

Hello everyone,
It's been ages since the last time I logged in.
Well, I will be going through your replies and I will decide when to reply accordingly.
Thank you.

 

[Tarheel]

I don't think I've ever needed to use "as well as" in a sentence.

 

[Rover_KE]

Not even to say 'My dad had his operation yesterday and he's as well as can be expected'?

 

[HSSEFL]

Jut for the record, 'AS WELL AS' can be used for making 'Addition' between sentences/ideas. And this device is particularly/subtly used when the first sentence/idea happens to be a bit long in terms of structure of the sentence itself, and the verb that comes after this device should be put in ING form. I could give examples if you wish.

 

[emsr2d2]

Jut for the record, 'AS WELL AS as well as' can be used for making 'Addition' between sentences/ideas.

And This device is particularly/subtly used when the first sentence/idea happens to be a bit long in terms of structure of the sentence itself, and the verb that comes after this device should be put in ING the -ing form.

I could give examples if you wish.

 

[HSSEFL]

There is no harm in capitalizing every single word of any term/item you are trying to put an emphasis on as explaining...etc.
The use of the conjunction "AND" seems to be fine to me.
Again, referring to the gerund form can be in different ways: ING; -ing; gerund...etc.
Now what do you think about the use of the linking device in question. Do you think that the verb following it should be in ING? Or maybe you have something else you wish to add.