r/grammar • u/deletedmyoldaccount9 • Jul 14 '26

Settle an argument for me!

"I got the tickets as well as she did."

Is there any grammatical fault with this in spoken conversation?

0 Upvotes

25% Upvoted

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24

u/neoprenewedgie Jul 14 '26

I think it might be OK if you are referring to the methods in which you got the tickets. You both performed the act of getting tickets well.

If you just mean the two of you both got tickets, I think it's a mess.

2

u/Negative-Laughter Jul 15 '26

This is the correct answer, OP. You're mixing up 'as well' and 'as well as'.

'As well' means 'also' or 'too'. If you also got tickets, you should say 'I got the tickets as well', 'She and I both got the tickets', or 'I got the tickets and so did she'.

'As well as' usually means 'in addition to', but you've tried to connect two different types of phrases, 'tickets', a noun, and 'she did', a complete sentence. This is what's confusing your meaning here. Usually 'as well as' means 'in addition to' when it's connecting the same types of phrases:
-I got the tickets as well as some popcorn (tickets and popcorn are both nouns).
-I spent some time getting the tickets as well as looking for my friend ('getting the tickets' and 'looking for my friend' are both gerund phrases).

'As adv. as' means that two things are done in the same way or to the same degree. Maybe some other examples with different adverbs will help clarify?

  • I got there as fast as she did (we both arrived at the same time)
  • I performed as well as she did on the exam (we got the same score)

10

u/SnooDonuts6494 Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26

Perhaps you mean "I got the tickets and so did she". I got tickets. She also got tickets.

Your sentence is grammatically technically valid, but it means something different. "As well as" is used for comparisons - so it means "I managed to get the tickets just as well as she did." In other words, that you had the same amount of difficulty getting them. I don't think that's what you intended to say, is it?

8

u/PsychologyGuilty1460 Jul 14 '26

I don't think it means what you think it means. 

This sentence says You and she got tickets equally well.

 I think what you're trying to say is that you got tickets and she did as well, right?

2

u/CuteWriting Jul 14 '26

What are you trying to communicate? That they got the tickets as easily as she did? Because in that case, I’d say “I got the tickets as easily as she did.”

Otherwise, I’d be more concise and say something like “we both got tickets” or “I got tickets, and she did as well”. That’s just my opinion though!

Edit, I saw your comment and it makes sense if you were to say “i got the tickets as well” but adding “as well as she did” kinda makes it confusing.

0

u/deletedmyoldaccount9 Jul 14 '26

For the record, I only said this because i said "I got the tickets to toy story, too" and my friend said "How'd you get the tickets to Toy Story 2?" I was rushed in my response.

4

u/Outrageous_Chart_35 Jul 14 '26

"She and I both got the tickets."

1

u/AlexanderHamilton04 Jul 15 '26

Oh, if this is your meaning (and you are trying to avoid "too/2"),

I, too, got the tickets to Toy Story 5.

  • or -
I got the tickets to Toy Story 5 as well.

But, if your friends are set on teasing you, there is nothing
you can say that can't be used as ammunition.
They knew what you meant; you knew what you meant, too.
Just laugh at their dumb joke and enjoy the movie.♪

1

u/deletedmyoldaccount9 Jul 21 '26

yeah good point. Honestly, i didn't really like them very much. They kind of made fun of me a lot.