Subjects containing "along with", "as well as", and "besides"
When (the head word of) the subject is separated from the verb by expressions starting with words such as along with, as well as, and besides, ignore these expressions when determining whether to use a singular or plural verb:
(1) [The politician, along with the journalist,] is expected tomorrow.
(2) [Excitement, as well as nervousness,] is the cause of her stutter.In other words, along with, as well as, and besides do not behave in the same way as the conjunction and when it comes to subject-verb agreement (even though they have roughly the same meaning or function).