as well as, apart from, in addition to

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I found the three phrases confusing ( I can understand the meaning of 'apart from' when it is used to introduce one small point which makes a statement not completely true. But I can't understand it when it means 'except for"). Sometimes they seem to me interchageable but sometimes they are not.

No. 1 Please read the sentence:
Apart from the occasional visit what does Alan do for his kids?
Can I replace 'apart from' with 'In addition to'?

If the answer is 'Alan brings the kids to parks'. That means 'Apart from the occasional visit Alan brings the kids to the parks'. Can I say:
Alan brings visit the kids as well as bring them to parks.
In addition to visiting the kids Alan brings them to parks.

If the answer is 'She does nothing for the kids' then I can only say 'Apart from the occasional visit Alan does nothing for the kids'.

May I draw the conclusion that if we talk about only thing I can only use 'apart from'. If there are more things I can use 'as well as', 'apart from' and 'in addition to'. One more example:

I just need a good computer. Apart from that I really don't need anything.
But: I need a good computer. In addition to that I really need a scanner.
Or: I need a good computer as well as a scanner.
Or: Apart from a good computer, I need a scanner.
Is that right?
No.2
'Apart from' is different from 'except' in that the former means something that is included in something and the latter means something that is not included in something. For example,

Apart from a good computer I need a scanner.
That mean I need both. If I say
I need all these except a computer that means the things I need do not include a computer.
Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[RonBee]

Apart from

Apart from the occasional visit, what does Alan do for his kids?

Aside from an occasional visit, what does Alan do for his kids?
Alan visits his kids occasionally, but what else does he do for them?
What does Alan do for his kids besides visit him occasionally?
Does Alan do anything for his kids besides visit them occasionally?
Alan does visit his kids every once in a while, but what else does he do for them?

Can we substitute "In addition to" for "Apart from"? I think not. (Why that is is a harder question to answer, and I have to go to work. )

~R
.

[RonBee]

Say:

Alan takes his kids to the park.

~R
.

[jiang]

Dear RonBee,

Thank you so much for pointing out the mistake.
Jiang

Say:

Alan takes his kids to the park.

~R
.

[jiang]

OK. I'll wait for other teachers.

Jiang

Apart from

Apart from the occasional visit, what does Alan do for his kids?

Aside from an occasional visit, what does Alan do for his kids?
Alan visits his kids occasionally, but what else does he do for them?
What does Alan do for his kids besides visit him occasionally?
Does Alan do anything for his kids besides visit them occasionally?
Alan does visit his kids every once in a while, but what else does he do for them?

Can we substitute "In addition to" for "Apart from"? I think not. (Why that is is a harder question to answer, and I have to go to work. )

~R
.

[Tdol]

'In addition' sounds more positive, while 'aside from', etc, implies that he's not a good father, IMO.

[BobK]

Apart from

Apart from the occasional visit, what does Alan do for his kids?

Aside from an occasional visit, what does Alan do for his kids?
Alan visits his kids occasionally, but what else does he do for them?
What does Alan do for his kids besides visit him occasionally?
Does Alan do anything for his kids besides visit them occasionally?
Alan does visit his kids every once in a while, but what else does he do for them?

Can we substitute "In addition to" for "Apart from"? I think not....

I don't either. You could use the phrase 'in addition to' in something like this:

Alan visits his kids occasionally, but what does he do in addition to that? or Alan visits his kids occasionally, but does he do anything in addition to that?

Anything done 'in addition to' something has to be incremental; in this case 'that' is what has to be incremented. And 'that' is not equal to 'a visit' - it's the practise of paying regular visits.

b

[jiang]

Dear BobK,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.
Jiang

I don't either. You could use the phrase 'in addition to' in something like this:

Alan visits his kids occasionally, but what does he do in addition to that? or Alan visits his kids occasionally, but does he do anything in addition to that?

Anything done 'in addition to' something has to be incremental; in this case 'that' is what has to be incremented. And 'that' is not equal to 'a visit' - it's the practise of paying regular visits.

b

[jiang]

Dear BobK,

I am sorry to say that after I thought I understood 'in addition to' I think I lost 'apart from'. Could you please kindly explain it more?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

I don't either. You could use the phrase 'in addition to' in something like this:

Alan visits his kids occasionally, but what does he do in addition to that? or Alan visits his kids occasionally, but does he do anything in addition to that?

Anything done 'in addition to' something has to be incremental; in this case 'that' is what has to be incremented. And 'that' is not equal to 'a visit' - it's the practise of paying regular visits.

b

[BobK]

Dear BobK,

I am sorry to say that after I thought I understood 'in addition to' I think I lost 'apart from'. Could you please kindly explain it more?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Think of the noun part as in 'part of something'. Something is made up of parts - let's take as an example the human body, which has many parts. If you want to talk about only one of them, you might say 'everything apart from the head'.

Apart from that, I don't know what I can say!

b