Grammatically Correct: The writer's essential guide to punctuation ...

Pat, like the others, was determined to finish on time.
GRAMMAR
A parcel, along with a multitude of letters, was delivered the next day.
The house, with all its contents, was heavily insured.
Anxiety about her health, in addition to her financial woes, has led her
to seek counseling.
Mitzi, accompanied by her husband, was trundling up the path.
His perseverance, no less than his pleasant manner, makes him a credible
candidate for the job.
Their country place, including the guest cottage, h worth about fifty
thousand.
The entire room, except the two side doors, h to be painted.
Of course, if the subject preceding the parenthetical phrase is
plural, the verb is plural. Just be sure to disregard the parenthetical
text when determining the form of the verb.
Note: The parenthetical phrases in the above examples are
enclosed in commas. While technically these are proper, some writers
may choose to drop them for reasons of style. If you omit the
commas, this does not affect the rule described above: You would
still disregard the parenthetical text as far as the verb is concerned.
For example:
The library as well as the chapel stands on a rolling green hill.
A final word on these types of construction: They may be correct,
but there is no denying they sometimes sound awkward. You may
in some cases want to consider joining the subjects with and instead.
The professor and her graduate students were just entering the building.
A parcel and a multitude of letters were delivered the next day.
DISTRACTING MODIFYING NOUNS
When a subject is followed by a phrase that further defines it, writers
sometimes mistake the noun contained in this phrase for the subject
itself. Consider the following three sentences:
This seth not complete.
These instructions are not complete.
This set of instructions h not complete.
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