ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
Grammar Videos 59 videos
Want even more deets on grammar? Click here for all the goods.
Want even more deets on Fewer vs. Less? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
Want even more deets on grammar? Click here for all the goods.
Not Only, But Also 726 Views
Share It!
Description:
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.
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
Full Transcript
- 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...
Related Videos
This video explains the difference between affect and effect and provide tips for remembering which is which and when to use each one. If you suffe...
Want even more deets on Question Marks? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
Want even more deets on Your vs. You're? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
What’s the difference between its and it’s (spoiler alert: it’s more than just an apostrophe). This video covers the use of both of these wor...