Don’t Use “Both” and “As Well As”
She is both generous as well as kind.
She is both generous and kind.
Can You Use “Both” and “As Well As” Together?
No, you cannot. Using both… as well as is considered improper grammar. Instead, you should use and after both.
Lourdes went to the mall and got both a dress as well as shoes.
The sentence above is unnecessarily clunky. Instead, you should use both… and:
Lourdes went to the mall and got both a dress and shoes.
Both… and are conjunctions or a part of speech that connects words, phrases, and clauses. More specifically, they fall under the category of correlative conjunctions. Keep in mind that commas are not needed when using both… and.
Another option would be to just use as well as:
Lourdes went to the mall and got a dress as well as shoes.
Avoid “Both… As Well As” and Use “Both… And” Instead
LanguageTool—an intelligent, multilingual text editor—can detect when you’ve written as well as after both and remind you to use and instead. Additionally, it can correct both spelling and grammar mistakes. Try it out.