with - along with

Question

Hello.What's the difference between with and along with meaning in the company or presence of a person or thing? For ex:I went to Paris with / along with my wife.Go to the cinema with / along with your older brother.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

What's the difference between with and along with meaning in the company or presence of a person or thing?

along with makes the 'accompanying' seem more incidental, less important. eg I lost my wallet, along with my comb suggests my wallet is important but my comb is not.

I went to Paris along with my wife suggests the main purpose of my trip was not to have a nice time with my wife. Perhaps she was even going there anyway, on business, and we just travelled together.

Same with the second example.

Having said that, we often just interchange these expressions in spoken English.

Best wishes, Clive

Pinenut · Answer

LatinHello.
What's the difference between with and along with meaning in the company or presence of a person or thing? For ex:

I went to Paris with / along with my wife.
Go to the cinema with / along with your older brother.

According to Collins Cobuild English Dictioary,

You use along with to mention someone or something else that is also involved in an action or situation.
The baby's mother escaped from the fire along with two other children.
There are 32 different kinds of chocolate on sale along with the bread and cakes.

Paco2004 · Answer

There is no great difference between "I went to Paris with my wife" and "I went to Paris along with my wife". They mean "I went to Paris in company with my wife". But please know that we cannot say "India, with China, will be a super power in Asia" to mean "India, along with China, will be a super power in Asia" or "India, side by side with China, will be a super power in Asia".

paco

Klavier · Answer

Let me see if I get this Paco, the nuance you point is clarifying:

India, with China,... > India will join forces with China to be a super power in Asia.
India, along with China,... > India and also China will be a super power in Asia.

Is my interpretation correct?

Paco2004 · Answer

Hello Latin

Yes, "India, along with China, will be a super power in Asia" means "India and China will be two super powers in Asia". I don’t think we can leave out "along" from "along with" in this case. In my opinion, "India, with China, will be a super power in Asia" is a wrong sentence. Neither can it mean "India jointed with China will be a super power in Asia".

paco

with - along with

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