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idiom - not only .... but also

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ccassel: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 118; Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2011 1:44 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Location: Canada; GMAT Score:530

by ccassel » Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:53 am

MUST the idiom "not only" always be followed by "but also" or is it still gramaticaly correct to have "not only" without "but also" preceeding it?

An experts reply would be very much appreciated!

Thanks,

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:53 am

vineeshp: Legendary Member; Posts: 965; Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2010 12:52 amFollowed by: 34 members; Thanked: 156 times; GMAT Score:720

by vineeshp » Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:38 pm

The correct idiom is Not only... but also... .

Hence But also should always follow Not only.

Vineesh,
Just telling you what I know and think. I am not the expert.

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vikram4689: Legendary Member; Posts: 1325; Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:24 amFollowed by: 14 members; Thanked: 105 times

by vikram4689 » Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:44 pm

but also can follow without not only . To understand better,Refer to following generics:

" X but also Y" =>> X & Y are contradicting views
"Not only X but also Y" =>> X & Y are reinforcing views

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bubbliiiiiiii: Legendary Member; Posts: 979; Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:38 amFollowed by: 12 members; Location: Hyderabad, India; Thanked: 49 times; GMAT Score:700

by bubbliiiiiiii » Tue Jun 21, 2011 12:13 am

ccassel wrote:MUST the idiom "not only" always be followed by "but also"

not necessary.

My revision from Ron's post,

Not .. But .. -> basic idiom

Only, also are modifiers and to be used based on meaning.

Thus, the sentence can be,

Not X but Y - Contrastion views.
Not only X but Y - Reinforce each other.
Not only X but also Y - Reinforce each other and one goes beyond the other.

The above three sentences differ in meaning.

is it still gramaticaly correct to have "not only" without "but also" preceeding it?

I dont think so. I have actually never come across such construction.

Lets see what experts have got to say.

Last edited by bubbliiiiiiii on Tue Jun 21, 2011 12:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

Regards,

Pranay

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sameerballani: Legendary Member; Posts: 544; Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:10 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 45 times

by sameerballani » Tue Jun 21, 2011 12:22 am

ccassel wrote:MUST the idiom "not only" always be followed by "but also" or is it still gramaticaly correct to have "not only" without "but also" preceeding it?

An experts reply would be very much appreciated!

Thanks,

If NOT ONLY is present then BUT ALSO MUST be present.
Whereas BUT ALSO can be present without NOT ONLY also, but vice versa is not true.

Correct forms are:
X BUT ALSO Y
NOT ONLY X BUT ALSO Y

I hope this helps

Thanks

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