Pam is an expert grammarian with years of experience teaching English, Writing and ESL Grammar courses at the university level. She is enamored with all things language and fascinated with how we use words to shape our world.
You’re welcome, Trung! Great question! The subject in the first part (not only) is the same subject for the (but also) part in this construction. As far as inversion, whatever follows only and also needs to be parallel — meaning the same part of speech. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the kind words, Param. Not only..but also doesn’t create run-on sentences when following the rules for its construction. Your examples aren’t strictly following the not only..but also construction; hence, why you are getting those recommendations. Whatever follows only and also needs to be parallel — meaning the same part of speech. Also, the subject usually comes in the "not only" part. There are a few different ways you can rewrite your examples. Here is one version for each using this construction. So, for example 1 if you move the subject from between two verbs, this construction becomes clearer — Thieves are not only able to….but also can pilfer. In your example 2, it could be rewritten — Thieves are able to not only divert...but also pilfer. Hope this helps! Good luck on your GMAT!
Hi Alka! There are several regular and irregular verbs shown in the past participle tense in the charts in this post. We have used v3 to denote the past participle form. Thanks for your question and stopping by! :-)
Hi English Grammar! There is a slight difference in spelling based on locale. American English prefers toward while British English prefers towards. Here's an interesting breakdown of the difference in usage: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/toward-towards-usage Thanks for stopping by! :-)
Zahra, great catch! The correct version is s/es, and we’ve updated our article to reflect this. The meaning of s/es is they are verb endings for present simple tense. So, for example, live would become: lives. He lives for chocolate! Or, instead of saying pass, it would become: passes. She passes the book to her friend. Hope this clarifies things. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, Vickie! Thank you so much for your question. This is a super confusing subject. Both "you are too funny" and "you are too much" are technically correct, but they can mean very different things. For example, "you are too funny" has a positive connotation. It means you find the person or something they said hilarious. However, "you are too much" may have a negative connotation. While it can be meant in a light-hearted way, it can also mean that someone has gone over the top or too far. We always want to make sure we answer every question completely, so let us know if we misunderstood your ask. Thanks again for stopping by!
Hi David! Thanks for the question. “Notwithstanding” in your sentence means “despite” or “in spite of”. On the other hand, “withstanding” is a verb that means “remain undamaged or unaffected by; resist.” In the first sentence, the bill passed despite or in spite of the strong opposition. Meanwhile, the second sentence suggests that the bill resisted or remained unaffected by the strong opposition and passed successfully. While both sentences are correct, the meanings are slightly different. Thanks!
Hi Ian, First and foremost, the entire team LOVED your comment. Thank you so much for sharing your personal insights. It’s always good to have an insider track to help enrich our articles for everyone, no matter which side of the pond (or border 😉). You are absolutely, right, there are many similarities and some overlap. In this particular article, we were looking at spelling, and that grey is the more common spelling for our neighbors to the North. :-) Thanks again for stopping by and never hesitate to share more of your firsthand knowledge!
Thanks for the question, Paula. Both sentences are grammatically correct. The second sentence; however, has “do” preceding not only. The phrase not only...but also is a style choice that is used for emphasis. So, the choice is up to you! Thanks!
Hi Stephen! Thanks for reaching out and for your patience. We double-checked question number #1, but we haven’t spotted a typo. Send us more details on the typo? We want to make sure our resources are as on point as possible for you. Thanks!
Hi Kinsley! Thanks for the question. Adding a comma is a stylistic choice and not grammatically required. The construction of not only…but also is comprised of correlative conjunctions to create parallelism. A comma is not necessary to separate the pairs in this phrase. However, it’s acceptable to add a comma in special circumstances — for example, indicating additional emphasis. Thanks for stopping by!
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