Plural or singular after "as well as" ?

Vetox

Hi guys, I've got a question for you. What form of noun should you use after "as well as"? I had this question in an exam and your reply would really help for better marks

Here's the question
Identify and correct the errors in the following sentences

i) Their marriage took place on April.
Their marriage took place in April.

ii) Mary as well as her friends practice hard.
Seems alright to me or should it be "practices"?
"friends" is plural so the word after that should be plural right? That's as far as my understanding goes.

iii) Neither the money or the jewels were recovered.
Neither the money nor the jewels were recovered.
Or is it supposed to be "was recovered"? jewels is plural and so the verb after it should be plural right?

Thanks in advance

odds_on

Vetox wrote: »

Hi guys, I've got a question for you. What form of noun should you use after "as well as"? I had this question in an exam and your reply would really help for better marks

Here's the question
Identify and correct the errors in the following sentences

i) Their marriage took place on April.

Their marriage took place on April + date

Their marriage took place in April.

Correct, in = during

ii) Mary as well as her friends practice hard.
Seems alright to me or should it be "practices"?
"friends" is plural so the word after that should be plural right? That's as far as my understanding goes.

In this case, the sentence is correct. When a subject is followed by as well as without commas, the verb takes the plural form as the subject of the verb is composed of two parts, Mary and (as well as) "her friends".

However, if the two subjects were separated by commas, the verb should be the same number as the first subject:
Mary, as well as her friends, practices hard.
In this case, the sentence could be rewritten without changing the meaning:
Mary practices hard, as well as her friends.

iii) Neither the money or the jewels were recovered.
Neither the money nor the jewels were recovered.
Or is it supposed to be "was recovered"? jewels is plural and so the verb after it should be plural right?

Neither ... nor should be used when identifying two negatives.
When singular subjects are connected using this construction, it is common to use a singular form of the verb; however, it is not uncommon to hear (especially in a more colloquial style) the plural form of the verb.

Sometimes, neither ... nor may be used when conveying three ideas, as in:
He neither smoked, drank nor danced.

Thanks in advance

You're welcome.

Vetox

So, i and ii are correct but iii is alright both ways?

Sometimes, neither ... nor may be used when conveying three ideas, as in:
He neither smoked, drank nor danced.

Wow, didn't know that it could be used that way until now. Thanks

tac foley

Remember -

'either' goes with 'or'

'neither' goes with 'nor'.

tac