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Idiom: Not only X but (also) Y

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Idiom: Not only X but (also) Y

by simplyjat » Sun Apr 13, 2008 10:43 am
I need some explanation regarding this.
As far as I know, not only should always be succeeded by but also. And the same is said in Manhattan SC book.

But the things are different in Kaplan world; Kaplan says that also is optional in the idiom . Kaplan also have lot of question based on the same concept.


So what is correct
Not only X but also Y
Not only X but [also] Y
simplyjat
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Re: Idiom: Not only X but (also) Y

by lunarpower » Tue Apr 15, 2008 1:57 am
simplyjat wrote:I need some explanation regarding this.
As far as I know, not only should always be succeeded by but also. And the same is said in Manhattan SC book.

But the things are different in Kaplan world; Kaplan says that also is optional in the idiom . Kaplan also have lot of question based on the same concept.


So what is correct
Not only X but also Y
Not only X but [also] Y
'not only ... but also' in generally preferred, but gmatprep has featured at least one problem featuring 'not only ... but' in the correct answer. here it is:

By pressing a tiny amount of nitrogen between two diamonds to a pressure of 25 milliion pounds per square inch, scientists not only were able to transform the gas into a solid, but they also created a semiconductor similar to silicon

A.
B. not only were able to transform the gas into a solid but also creating
C. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but to create
D. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but also creating
E. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but they were also able to create

the correct answer is c, the only choice that features proper parallelism. it omits the word 'also', but it's still correct.

file this one away in your mental file cabinet of problems!
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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Re: Idiom: Not only X but (also) Y

by GMAT_crusher » Tue Apr 15, 2008 6:49 pm
lunarpower wrote:
simplyjat wrote:I need some explanation regarding this.
As far as I know, not only should always be succeeded by but also. And the same is said in Manhattan SC book.

But the things are different in Kaplan world; Kaplan says that also is optional in the idiom . Kaplan also have lot of question based on the same concept.


So what is correct
Not only X but also Y
Not only X but [also] Y
'not only ... but also' in generally preferred, but gmatprep has featured at least one problem featuring 'not only ... but' in the correct answer. here it is:

By pressing a tiny amount of nitrogen between two diamonds to a pressure of 25 milliion pounds per square inch, scientists not only were able to transform the gas into a solid, but they also created a semiconductor similar to silicon

A.
B. not only were able to transform the gas into a solid but also creating
C. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but to create
D. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but also creating
E. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but they were also able to create

the correct answer is c, the only choice that features proper parallelism. it omits the word 'also', but it's still correct.

file this one away in your mental file cabinet of problems!
techically wouldn't this be (idiom and balanced) ...

were not only able to transform the gas into a solid but were also able to create

now that we do not have this option, its better to just file it in the mental cabinet :wink:
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Re: Idiom: Not only X but (also) Y

by lunarpower » Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:01 pm
GMAT_crusher wrote: were not only able to transform the gas into a solid but were also able to create
no, that'd be incorrect.

the first part of the parallel structure is ONLY the words that come after 'not only'. therefore, the first part of the parallel structure is just
able to transform the gas

therefore, the word were should NOT appear in the second part of the parallel structure, because it doesn't appear in the first part.

if you were going to write this structure, you'd write
...were not only able to transform the gas into a solid but also able to create...
...but that wouldn't be as good, because it's more wordy (the word 'able' is repeated, which isn't optimal).
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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Re: Idiom: Not only X but (also) Y

by farooq » Tue Mar 03, 2009 3:17 am

By pressing a tiny amount of nitrogen between two diamonds to a pressure of 25 milliion pounds per square inch, scientists not only were able to transform the gas into a solid, but they also created a semiconductor similar to silicon

A.
B. not only were able to transform the gas into a solid but also creating
C. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but to create
D. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but also creating
E. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but they were also able to create

the correct answer is c, the only choice that features proper parallelism. it omits the word 'also', but it's still correct.
Why option E is incorrect?[/quote]
Regards,
Farooq Farooqui.
London. UK

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Re: Idiom: Not only X but (also) Y

by lunarpower » Wed Mar 04, 2009 4:12 am
farooq wrote:Why option E is incorrect?
with 2-part parallel constructions, such as "not only ... but" (as in this problem), all you have to do is LOOK AT THE WORDS FOLLOWING EACH OF THE TWO PARALLEL SIGNALS.

in choice (e)
the words following "not only" are to transform... (an infinitive).
the words following "but" are they were able to create... (a full clause, with subject and verb, and no infinitive anywhere in sight).
these aren't even close to being parallel.

notice how mechanical this is, and how useless your ear is in evaluating it. in fact, most topics in sentence correction, but especially parallelism and pronouns, are almost more like quant problems than verbal problems (in that they're just so mechanical).
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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Re: Idiom: Not only X but (also) Y

by goelmohit2002 » Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:55 pm
lunarpower wrote:
farooq wrote:Why option E is incorrect?
with 2-part parallel constructions, such as "not only ... but" (as in this problem), all you have to do is LOOK AT THE WORDS FOLLOWING EACH OF THE TWO PARALLEL SIGNALS.

in choice (e)
the words following "not only" are to transform... (an infinitive).
the words following "but" are they were able to create... (a full clause, with subject and verb, and no infinitive anywhere in sight).
these aren't even close to being parallel.

notice how mechanical this is, and how useless your ear is in evaluating it. in fact, most topics in sentence correction, but especially parallelism and pronouns, are almost more like quant problems than verbal problems (in that they're just so mechanical).
Thanks Ron !!!

Can you please look at the following post.....where the similar issue is there(not only X but [also] Y).....both A and D look to be perfectly OK(atleast to me).....

https://www.beatthegmat.com/economic-ind ... tml#165802

Can you please tell which one to choose ?
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