How to use "not only but also"

What Does "not only but also" Mean?

• Grammatical function: This is a correlative conjunction used to express addition with emphasis. It connects two related items or ideas, suggesting that the second item is even more surprising, important, or noteworthy than the first.
• Typical sentence position: It most commonly appears in the medial position (within the clause), but it can also be used in the initial position for rhetorical effect.
• Register: It is primarily used in formal and neutral contexts, such as academic papers, journalism, and professional correspondence.

How to Use It

• Syntactic patterns: The expression follows the principle of parallelism. Whatever grammatical structure follows "not only" (a noun, verb, adjective, or phrase) must also follow "but also."
• Punctuation rules: Generally, no comma is needed before "but also" when connecting small phrases. However, if "not only" starts a sentence, the second clause is often preceded by a comma. In some academic contexts, a semicolon may be used to separate complex independent clauses.
• Grammatical flexibility: It can start a sentence, but this requires subject-verb inversion (e.g., "Not only did he arrive late, but he also forgot his keys"). The word "also" can sometimes be moved or omitted if the context remains clear.
• What sounds unnatural: Using non-parallel structures (e.g., "not only running but also he swims") or using it for simple, non-emphatic lists where a basic "and" would suffice.

Real-World Examples

These examples are sourced from not only but also on Ludwig.guru.

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe" — Stanford University

"Potentially more damaging to Israel, the pact between Mr. Netanyahu and the Kahanists was criticized in the United States not only but also by liberal Jewish organizations, but by some whose strong support of Israel rarely includes any public intervention in its boisterous politics." — The New York Times

"For example, not in "not only but also" is not used for negation." — Complex Adaptive Systems Modeling

"As a rule of thumb, verification tends to interpret semantics preservation in a very tight sense, not only but also to simplify the verification task." — Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science

"Ideally, such communication should contain not only, but also information on recency of test results and number of potential HIV exposures since the last test [ 40, 41]." — BMC Public Health

Similar Phrases and Alternatives

Phrase	Context
as well as	Less formal; used for simple addition without the same level of emphasis.
in addition to	Neutral; typically used at the beginning of a sentence to introduce extra information.
furthermore	Formal; used to transition between two separate sentences to build an argument.
both and	Neutral; a simpler correlative conjunction that gives equal weight to two items.
along with	Informal/Neutral; suggests one item is accompanying another.

Common Mistakes

• Lack of Parallelism: Mixing different parts of speech (e.g., an adjective with a verb phrase) after the two parts of the conjunction.
• Missing Inversion: Forgetting to flip the subject and auxiliary verb when beginning a sentence with "Not only."
• The most common error is failing to use parallel grammatical structures after each part of the pair or forgetting to use subject-verb inversion when 'not only' starts a sentence.

Quick-Reference Summary

Expression	Function	Register	Typical Position
not only but also	Emphatic addition	Formal / Neutral	Medial or Sentence-Initial

FAQs

Can I use not only but also at the beginning of a sentence?

Yes, not only but also can appear in the sentence-initial position to create a more dramatic or rhetorical effect. However, you must use subject-verb inversion in the first clause, such as writing "Not only was the food cold" instead of "Not only the food was cold."

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How does this expression differ from using as well as?

While both expressions add information, not only but also provides much stronger emphasis on the second element. The phrase as well as is generally more neutral and does not require the same strict parallelism or complex word order changes.

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What is the most important rule to remember for this phrase?

The most common error is failing to use parallel grammatical structures after each part of the pair or forgetting to use subject-verb inversion when not only starts a sentence. Ensuring that both parts of the pair are followed by the same part of speech maintains clarity and professional tone.