Close
  • Podcasts
    • Grammar Girl
    • Curious State
    • Get-Fit Guy
    • Money Girl
    • Project Parenthood
    • Relationship Doctor
    • Modern Mentor
    • Nutrition Diva
    • Savvy Psychologist
    • Who Knew?
    • Unknown History
    • Ask Science
  • Books
  • Categories
    • Health & Fitness
    • House & Home
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Pets
    • Education
    • Tech
    • Productivity
    • Business & Career
    • Money & Finance
  • Offers
  • About QDT
What's Hot

5 Tips for Enterprises to Counter the Persistent Ransomware Problem

August 4, 2022

How to be a purpose and belonging informed leader

August 2, 2022

Do All Adverbs End in “-Ly”?

April 28, 2022
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Quick and Dirty Tips ™
  • Podcasts
    • Grammar Girl
    • Curious State
    • Get-Fit Guy
    • Money Girl
    • Project Parenthood
    • Relationship Doctor
    • Modern Mentor
    • Nutrition Diva
    • Savvy Psychologist
    • Who Knew?
    • Unknown History
    • Ask Science
  • Books
  • Categories
    • Health & Fitness
    • House & Home
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Pets
    • Education
    • Tech
    • Productivity
    • Business & Career
    • Money & Finance
  • Offers
  • About QDT
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
Quick and Dirty Tips ™
You are at:Home » Not Only But Also
Grammar Girl

Not Only But Also

Learn how to properly use the English pair not only and but also.

By Mignon FogartyJanuary 26, 2017No Comments2 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
 Apple Podcast Page  Spotify Podcast Page  Google Podcast Page  Sticher Podcast Page
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Email

not only but also

When not only is followed by but also (or simply but), it’s considered good form to make sure the parts that follow each set of words are formatted the same way.

Examples of ‘Not Only But Also’

For example, this sentence is good because it uses two noun phrases:

Aardvark is not only a great fisherman but also a great friend.

A great fisherman is a noun phrase and it follows not only, and a great friend is a noun phrase and it follows but also.

Keep It Parallel

Sometimes people write sentences like this, in which the parts aren’t parallel, and that can be called out as bad style:

Aardvark is not only a great fisherman but also works hard to be a good friend.

A great fisherman follows not only and is a noun phrase, but works hard to be a good friend follows but also and is a verb phrase. Since one is a noun phrase and one is a verb phrase, they don’t match grammatically, and that’s why it’s bad.

[block:qdt_book=qdt_book]

If you want to use a verb phrase, you can rewrite the first part to match:

Aardvark not only excels at fishing but also works hard to be a good friend.

That’s your Quick and Dirty Tip, try to use parallel elements when you’re writing a sentence that uses not only with but also.

This article originally appeared January 29, 2011, and was updated January 27, 2017.

Mignon Fogarty
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Mignon Fogarty is the founder of Quick and Dirty Tips and the author of seven books on language, including the New York Times bestseller "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing." She is an inductee in the Podcasting Hall of Fame, and the show is a five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. She has appeared as a guest expert on the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Today Show. Her popular LinkedIn Learning courses help people write better to communicate better.

Add A Comment

Comments are closed.

Don't Miss

5 Tips for Enterprises to Counter the Persistent Ransomware Problem

By Jeff Broth, ContributorAugust 4, 2022

A mid-year cyber threat report reveals that there has been a dip in the number…

How to be a purpose and belonging informed leader

August 2, 2022

Do All Adverbs End in “-Ly”?

April 28, 2022

Is “Funnest” a Word?

April 21, 2022
Stay In Touch
  • Facebook 12K
  • Twitter 25.7K
  • Pinterest 18.5K
  • Instagram 123K
  • YouTube 23K
  • Vimeo 11.2K
Our Picks

5 Tips for Enterprises to Counter the Persistent Ransomware Problem

By Jeff Broth, ContributorAugust 4, 2022

How to be a purpose and belonging informed leader

By Belle Liang and Timothy KleinAugust 2, 2022

Do All Adverbs End in “-Ly”?

By Bonnie MillsApril 28, 2022
Demo

Subscribe

 Apple Podcast Page  Spotify Podcast Page  Google Podcast Page  Sticher Podcast Page

Books

Amazon.comBarnesIndiBOundApple iBookstoreIndiBOund
Amazon.comBarnesIndiBOundApple iBookstore

Don't miss

Never miss another tip! Join our list to get updates from your favorite hosts delivered straight to your inbox
Sign Up
ABOUT US
logo-img

Whether you want to manage your money better, rock your professional life, stay fit and eat healthy, or discover the keys to better mental health, Quick and Dirty Tips delivers short-form podcasts and articles every week to keep you at the top of your game, usually in ten minutes or less!

Email: contact@quickanddirtytips.com

QUICK LINKS
  • Health & Fitness
  • House & Home
  • Parenting
  • Relationships
  • Pets
  • Education
  • Tech
  • Productivity
  • Business & Career
  • Money & Finance
  • How to listen
  • Privacy notice
  • Ads & Cookies
  • Terms of Use
  • About QDT
  • Our Hosts
OUR PICKS

5 Tips for Enterprises to Counter the Persistent Ransomware Problem

August 4, 2022

How to be a purpose and belonging informed leader

August 2, 2022

Do All Adverbs End in “-Ly”?

April 28, 2022
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Copyright © 2022 Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC. Quick & Dirty Tips™ and related trademarks appearing on this website are the property of Mignon Fogarty, Inc. and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.