The man, as well as the woman … arrested

Analyze the question This tests subject-verb agreement. The sentence is "The man, as well as the woman, ___ arrested."

Explain the concept When a subject is followed by a phrase such as as well as, together with, along with, or in addition to, that phrase is only parenthetical (extra information). It does not make the subject plural. The verb agrees with the main subject, which comes before the phrase.

Solution

1. Main subject: "The man" (singular).
2. "as well as the woman" is an interruption, so we ignore it when choosing the verb.
3. We need a singular verb that works with "arrested" (a past participle), so we need a passive form. • A. have been is plural, so it is wrong. • B. has been is singular, giving "has been arrested", which is correct. • C. is been is ungrammatical. "Been" cannot follow "is" like this. • D. are being is plural, so it is wrong.

Correct sentence: The man, as well as the woman, has been arrested.

Tip Remember the "AS WELL AS" rule: cover up the phrase and look at the first subject. Cover "as well as the woman" and you get "The man has been arrested." The same trick works for together with, along with, and in addition to. By contrast, and joins subjects and makes them plural ("The man and the woman have been arrested").