The Inseparable "Not Only . . . But Also"

What is wrong with this sentence? "Green spaces are not only pretty, they are globally important."

If you answered that the "but" is missing in the second clause, good for you! The sentence should read, more correctly, "Green spaces are not only pretty, but globally important."

Besides being correct, the second example has one fewer word. Unfortunately, as Warren Clement notes in his Globe and Mail column, "Word Play," that the "most common sin is to drop the 'but.'"

That, and faulty parallel construction. He reminds us to "make the two parts parallel." If a verb follows "not only" then one will surely follow the "but also," he goes on to say.

Be sure to practice this useful construction and get it right the first time!

 

 

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