not only...but also

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I have two questions to ask:

No.1
I find the new manager neither easy to get along with nor delightful to talk to.
Can it be rewritten:
The new manager is not only easy to get along with but also delightful to talk to.

No.2
He is not only fluent in French but also in English.
Can it be rewritten；
He is fluent both in French and English.

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

 

[Barb_D]

Hi,
In your first pair, you completely reversed the meaning.

In your second pair, the meaning is the same.

 

[sarat_106]

Dear teachers,

I have two questions to ask:

No.1
I find the new manager neither easy to get along with nor delightful to talk to.
Can it be rewritten:
The new manager is not only easy to get along with but also delightful to talk to.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Please note that neither…. Nor and not only… but also are paired conjunctions used to join words, phases or clauses having similar ideas/things/traits. In the first sentence you have used neither… nor to connect two underlined traits to express negatively. So when you connected the same two negative traits by not only ….. but also, it becomes a case of double negative, making the traits positive. Actually, you can not replace the conjunction by another having similar use. However, you can use by replacing the adjectives with theor opposites to retain the same meanong; as:
The new manager is not only difficult to get along with but also disagreeable to talk to.

 

[jiang]

Hi,

Thank you very much for your explanation.
I find the new manager neither easy to get along with nor delightful to talk to.
Can it be rewritten:
The new manager is not only not easy to get along with but also not delightful to talk to.

Hi,
In your first pair, you completely reversed the meaning.

In your second pair, the meaning is the same.

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

 

[jiang]

Hi,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I understand it.

Jiang

Please note that neither…. Nor and not only… but also are paired conjunctions used to join words, phases or clauses having similar ideas/things/traits. In the first sentence you have used neither… nor to connect two underlined traits to express negatively. So when you connected the same two negative traits by not only ….. but also, it becomes a case of double negative, making the traits positive. Actually, you can not replace the conjunction by another having similar use. However, you can use by replacing the adjectives with theor opposites to retain the same meanong; as:
The new manager is not only difficult to get along with but also disagreeable to talk to.

 

[bhaisahab]

Hi,

Thank you very much for your explanation.
I find the new manager neither easy to get along with nor delightful to talk to.
Can it be rewritten:
The new manager is not only not easy to get along with but also not delightful to talk to.


Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

It can be written that way, but the original is much more natural and has the advantage of saying the same thing more elegantly and with less words.