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Not Only, But Also 711 Views


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Want even more deets on Not Only, But Also? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.

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Transcript

00:04

Not only, but also, a la Shmoop Mr. Coleman not only yells at the kids to

00:09

get off his lawn, but also takes detailed descriptions of them to bring to the police

00:15

station every Sunday.

00:16

The police not only don't care, but also use the other side of Mr. Coleman's note

00:22

to play hangman while off-duty. The phrase not only, but also is a great tool

00:28

for bringing something to the next level...

00:30

...sometimes a questionably sane level, but that's a matter we'll leave to the local

00:35

police. The setup is pretty simple.

00:38

Not only this thing, but also this crazier-scarier-fancier-whatever-er thing!

00:43

And there's only one rule to doing not only, but also right...

00:48

Agreement.

00:49

Agreement between the clauses following the not only and the but also.

00:53

So, the clauses have to agree.

01:00

They can be noun or verb clauses, but if they're in

01:02

the same sentence, they have to match.

01:05

That means that if you've got a noun clause before not only, you've got to have a noun

01:09

clause after but also.

01:11

"Mr. Coleman is not only a big jerk but also eats boogers for breakfast."

01:18

After not only, there's the noun clause "a big jerk," and after but also there's

01:23

the verb clause "eats boogers for breakfast."

01:26

So not only is followed by a noun clause while but also is followed by a verb clause. There's

01:32

no agreement. "Mr. Coleman is not only a big jerk but

01:40

also an eater of boogers."

01:41

...okay, that's... well, technically better.

01:44

Changing the second clause from "eats boogers" to "an eater of boogers" made both clauses

01:49

into noun clauses. Now there's agreement.

01:54

So as long as the clauses following not only and but also match -- they're both verb

01:59

clauses or noun clauses -- the sentence works.

02:03

But proper grammar doesn't make Mr. Coleman any happier about those kids on his lawn.

02:07

They really need to go inside and play Mario Party for six hours or something...

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