Translation of "as well as" Thread poster: Andrew Kim
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Our school grammer book says that the expression "A as well as B" is used to emphasize "A" more than "B".
Is this how natives actually use it? I mean, don't they also use it as a simple conjuction to conveniently bridge several words in a long, narative sentence?
Hope someone could enlighten me on this one.
[Edited at 2007-03-16 07:02]
[Edited at 2007-03-16 07:59]
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Iris Shalev 
Israel
Local time: 07:09
English to Dutch
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| I think you're right | Mar 16, 2007 |
I even think that there might be a slight emphasis on B. But don't take my word on it! Let's see what native speakers have to say.
Iris.
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| Not only, but also ... | Mar 16, 2007 |
Iris Shalev wrote:
I even think that there might be a slight emphasis on B. But don't take my word on it! Let's see what native speakers have to say.
Iris.
Hullo,
In English English (and American English too, I think), in order to emphasise B as opposed to A, you can say:
"Not only A, but also B, does/has ...".
By the way, grammar has no "e" - grammar, not grammer!
Best wishes,
Jenny.
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Lia Fail (X)
Spain
Local time: 06:09
Spanish to English
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Andrew Kim wrote:
Our school grammer book says that the expression "A as well as B" is used to emphasize "A" more than "B".
Is this how natives actually use it? I mean, don't they also use it as a simple conjuction to conveniently bridge several words in a long, narative sentence?
Hope someone could enlighten me on this one.
[Edited at 2007-03-16 07:02]
[Edited at 2007-03-16 07:59]
If you have a long list, and "as well as" helps with teh last item, especially if there is one or more 'ands' elsewhere.
But I don't think it necessarily gives more emphasis to any item in particular.
However, "as well as" also means "in addition",
As well as swimming 3 times a week, I (also) go cycling and horseriding at the weekend.
The emphasis here is certainly more on the second part of teh sentence.
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Tony Keily
Local time: 06:09
Italian to English
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| Rules and real usage | Mar 16, 2007 |
Maybe what you'll find is that 'as well as' will replace 'and' in cases where B is de-emphasised by the phrasing used: "She took vitamins as well as other food supplements", but "She took vitamins and minerals"; "She visited Dublin as well as other capitals", but "She visited Dublin and Rome".
However, a school book will often try to describe usage in an over-formalised, black/white way. What we should talk about are tendencies in usage rather than grammatical rules. A native will ... See more Maybe what you'll find is that 'as well as' will replace 'and' in cases where B is de-emphasised by the phrasing used: "She took vitamins as well as other food supplements", but "She took vitamins and minerals"; "She visited Dublin as well as other capitals", but "She visited Dublin and Rome".
However, a school book will often try to describe usage in an over-formalised, black/white way. What we should talk about are tendencies in usage rather than grammatical rules. A native will quite happily use and/as well as interchangeably! ▲ Collapse
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Russell Jones
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:09
Italian to English
The two usages you suggest are quite correct and Tony has given good examples of use for the purposes of emphasis.
The decision to use it instead of a simple "and" is a personal one, usually connected with the complexity of a sentence e.g. the length of a list of nouns, whether "ands" have also been used to connect phrases and / or clauses etc.
"Together with" is another option in this context.
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Andrew Kim
Local time: 13:09
English to Korean
TOPIC STARTER | How about translating it on an opposite way? | Mar 16, 2007 |
Thanks to everyone who have answered to my humble question.
BTW, as Iris suggested, I’m also curious whether "Dublin as well as Rome” sometimes can give a slight emphasis on “Rome”, not “Dublin.” Because that’s exactly what comes to my mind when I read rather complex sentences with this expression.
Just let me take an example.
"If it involves customer-related data such as credit card information–it can severely undermine customer confidence ... See more Thanks to everyone who have answered to my humble question.
BTW, as Iris suggested, I’m also curious whether "Dublin as well as Rome” sometimes can give a slight emphasis on “Rome”, not “Dublin.” Because that’s exactly what comes to my mind when I read rather complex sentences with this expression.
Just let me take an example.
"If it involves customer-related data such as credit card information–it can severely undermine customer confidence as well as violate local laws."
What I guess is that for this sentence, "as well as" is not simply interchangeable with "and." However, "losing customer confidence" is a natural consequence, but "violate local laws" is what you might not have expected... hence a little more weight is given on "violate local laws"
Am I going too far?
[Edited at 2007-03-16 10:21] ▲ Collapse
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Alicia Casal
Argentina
Local time: 01:09
English to Spanish
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| and the translation into Spanish? | Mar 16, 2007 |
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Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 22:09
English to Spanish
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In memoriam
"así como..." That's the translation into Spanish.
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