John, as well as his parents, is going to the United States soon.

It needs commas in my opinion, but I am not a huge fan of this sentence. Can't you say "John and his parents are going to the United States soon" or "John is going to the United States soon with his parents"?

John, as well as his parents, is going to the United States soon.
Are the commas optional?

1) That sentence is not natural or correct. 'John and his parents are going to the United States soon.' is the logical and natural way to say that.
2) 'John, along with his parents, is going to the United States soon.' is correct.
3) The commas are required.

Why do you feel that "along with" is correct but "as well as" is incorrect?

I agree that the original is not the most natural way to say this, but not that it's incorrect.

BarbaraPAWhy do you feel that "along with" is correct but "as well as" is incorrect?
I agree that the original is not the most natural way to say this, but not that it's incorrect.

I am not very surprised that you say that, because, at least on the surface, the two sentences are quite similar. Also, the border between 'correct' and 'incorrect' is sometimes

I think it is misleading for people learning to say something is "not correct" when it's grammatically correct, but simply not what you consider to be good style. I think the potential for confusing learners is amplified when you say it's not correct and then use " along with" as an example of something correct. I hope you'll consider using "is not correct" differently in the future.

BarbaraPA think it is misleading for people learning to say something is "not correct" when it's grammatically correct, but simply not what you consider to be good style.

I dispute your conterntion that it's simply a matter of style. Of course there are students of various English levels here, and some of the higher-level students might might appreciate some d

John, as well as his parents, is going to the United States soon.


My own view is that sentences such as this hardly exist outside grammar books, examinations and exercises found in some coursebooks.


If learners ask questions about them, we need to give sound answers but, in my opinion, a sound answer includes telling them that most native speakers w

As I said, I don't at all disagree that it's not very natural. I object to it being called "incorrect," especially when John, along with ..., is" is then given as a correct version.

By all means, point out how utterly unlikely it is that a native speaker will produce it, but don't say it's wrong, when we all know there are tons of grammatical but unlikely sentences in learners' text books

Thanks to the members who have replied.

I find it interesting that the sentence is not natural to a native speaker when it is found in the following dictionary. Also, it has been labelled as incorrect by canadian45.

Definition of AS WELL AS
: in addition to :

tamguatlayI find it interesting that the sentence is not natural to a native speaker when it is found in the following dictionary. Also, it has been labelled as incorrect by canadian45.

The expression "as well as" is fine in the right setting. It's just a bit horrible in that sentence. Generally speaking, I would avoid using it to combine nouns that are the su