ainsi que

9832 B.C1Kwiziq community member

ainsi que

(I saw a related question below, but didn't see how to link this question to that one... so I'm starting a new question.)

My question is about how to think about the meaning of "ainsi que." It's translated as "as well as," but in some examples I run into a singular treatment when my brain seems to expect a plural. I think the lesson here for me is that this isn't a translation that works in some cases. I'm wondering if my feeling is true for American English but maybe not for other varieties?

Here's the sentence that tripped me up:

Les Etats-Unis, ________ l'Angleterre, sont un pays anglophone.The United States, as well as England, is an anglophone country.
In English, I actually wouldn't say a sentence like in the translation above - I would say "The United States, like England, is an anglophone country." OR "The United States and England are anglophone countries." I just wouldn't use "as well as" in that way. So my takeaway is that I shouldn't lean in to heavily on using this as a 1-for-1 translation. Does this work better in, say, British English? Thanks.

Asked 5 hours ago
9832 B. asked:

ainsi que

(I saw a related question below, but didn't see how to link this question to that one... so I'm starting a new question.)

My question is about how to think about the meaning of "ainsi que." It's translated as "as well as," but in some examples I run into a singular treatment when my brain seems to expect a plural. I think the lesson here for me is that this isn't a translation that works in some cases. I'm wondering if my feeling is true for American English but maybe not for other varieties?

Here's the sentence that tripped me up:

Les Etats-Unis, ________ l'Angleterre, sont un pays anglophone.The United States, as well as England, is an anglophone country.
In English, I actually wouldn't say a sentence like in the translation above - I would say "The United States, like England, is an anglophone country." OR "The United States and England are anglophone countries." I just wouldn't use "as well as" in that way. So my takeaway is that I shouldn't lean in to heavily on using this as a 1-for-1 translation. Does this work better in, say, British English? Thanks.

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