not only.... but also

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

Please read the following sentences:

1. He not only had read the book but also remembered what he had read.
The sentence could be written this way:
He had not only read the book but (also ) had remember what he had read.
Is that right?

2. Not only did he turn up late, he also forgot his books. (From the dictionary)
If I change this sentence to:
He did not only turn up late, he also forgot his books. Is that right?
If the above sentences are correct, then

3. 'He cannot only sing but DANCE' is incorrect. And 'He cannot only sing but danceS' is correct.
In other words even if there is 'can' we should still add 's' to the word 'dance'. Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[Philly]

Dear teachers,
Please read the following sentences:
1. He not only had read the book but also remembered what he had read.
The sentence could be written this way:
He had not only read the book but (also ) had remembered what he had read.
Is that right? NO, you need to write "remembered" and the second "had" is unnecessary since it is already given in the first half of the sentence.
2. Not only did he turn up late, he also forgot his books. (From the dictionary)
If I change this sentence to:
He did not only turn up late, he also forgot his books. Is that right? NO
If the above sentences are correct, then (Your alternative sentences are not correct, but I'll continue along with you anyway )
3. 'He cannot only sing but DANCE' is incorrect. No, that is a correct sentence. And 'He cannot only sing but danceS' is correct. NO, "dances" is incorrect here.
In other words even if there is 'can' we should still add 's' to the word 'dance'. Is that right? NO

Hi Jiang
All of your alternative sentences are incorrect. My comments are inserted into the quote above.
Regarding your alternative sentence in number 2 ("He did not only turn up late, he also forgot his books."):
As I mentioned, this is grammatically incorrect. You don't need inversion in this sentence since it no longer begins with "not only". You could reword it this way:
"He not only turned up late, he also forgot his books."
Amy

[Coffa]

Actually, 3) should be written "He can not only sing but dance" because 'cannot' ties the modifier 'not' to the auxiliary verb 'can' rather than 'sing' as intended. Even this is poor English. The sentence should really be written "Not only can he sing but also dance" or "He not only sings but also dances".

[jiang]

Hi Philly,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.

Jiang

Hi Jiang
All of your alternative sentences are incorrect. My comments are inserted into the quote above.
Regarding your alternative sentence in number 2 ("He did not only turn up late, he also forgot his books."):
As I mentioned, this is grammatically incorrect. You don't need inversion in this sentence since it no longer begins with "not only". You could reword it this way:
"He not only turned up late, he also forgot his books."
Amy

[jiang]

Hi Coffa,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.

Jiang

Actually, 3) should be written "He can not only sing but dance" because 'cannot' ties the modifier 'not' to the auxiliary verb 'can' rather than 'sing' as intended. Even this is poor English. The sentence should really be written "Not only can he sing but also dance" or "He not only sings but also dances".

[kychung]

Actually, 3) should be written "He can not only sing but dance" because 'cannot' ties the modifier 'not' to the auxiliary verb 'can' rather than 'sing' as intended. Even this is poor English. The sentence should really be written "Not only can he sing but also dance" or "He not only sings but also dances".

Thank you very much for all these detail information. Now I see. I have one more question - should we place a comma before "but"? For example: The weather is turning upside down not only because of the air pollution, but also because of the decreased number of forest.
Please clarify.