On the ainsi que lesson there is the following section:
ATTENTION:
You can only use aussi bien que in French when comparing abilities, as in "I do it as well as you do", but NOT in the above cases.
Yes, this lesson can be a bit confusing. It's throwing a lot of subtle stuff at you which all sounds kind of similar.
One confusion comes from the translation chosen for ainsi que. In the lesson it is given as "as well as", which is ambiguous in English. Think of ainsi que meaning "and also". Then you would never confuse it with aussi bien que, which means "(doing something) as well as". Therefore it becomes clear that ainsi que ("and also") can never be used to compare abilities. To wit:
L'Angleterre ainsi que la France a combattu l'Alemagne. -- England and also (= as well as) France fought against Germany.
L'Angleterre a combattu l'Alemagne aussi bien que la France. -- England fought Germany as effectively as (= as well as) France.
I think it is actually trying to clarify that they are not interchangeable because of the confusion arising from English translations! Both «ainsi que» and «aussi bien que» can be translated in English to 'as well as. . '. However for ainsi que 'as well as. . ' fits with additionally, or in addition to. The phrase «aussi bien que . .» will be in the context of a comparison of abilities, a different meaning of 'as well as'. Perhaps the explanation could be expanded for greater clarity?
Bonjour Sally,
Thank you all for you feedback. Chris has explained the difference very well ;-) And we have added his examples to help clarify it all.
Bonne journée!
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