ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: word inversion

CalifJim — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:12:58 GMT

Kooyeen
Using "but" alone, is it still idiomatic?

No. Your intuitions are correct.

In the second and third versions (without but), I would have separated the two parts with a semi-colon.

Re: word inversion

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:47:01 GMT

The way is written is correct. You can also use the inverted word order to give more emphasis to the sentence. e.g. Not only have I sent a number of e-mails but also (I have) left a few voice messeges.

Re: word inversion

eagerness — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:13:37 GMT

Thank you all for your swift response to my question.

Re: word inversion

Kooyeen — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:05:12 GMT

I think in the "not only / but also" structure, you can leave out "but", or even "but + also" altogether, but not just "also".

I have not only sent some emails, but I have also left some voice messages.
I have not only sent some emails, I have also left some voice messages! <-- Seems kind of emphatic to me
I have not only sent some emails, I have left some voice messages! <-- Seems kind of emphatic to me
I have not only sent some emails, but I have left some voice messages! <-- I'm not sure about this one. Using "but" alone, is it still idiomatic?

Just my opinion.

Re: word inversion

Yoong Liat — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:53:01 GMT

RayH

eagerness
If I said" I have not only sent a number of e-mails, but I have also left a few voice messages", would I be correct? Could this same sentence be structured differently?

Thank you.

Sounds OK to me. I might leave out "but".

I don't think you can leave out 'but'. I would remove 'also' if it would make the sentence sound better, but I don't think it would.

Re: word inversion

RayH — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:29:07 GMT

eagerness
If I said" I have not only sent a number of e-mails, but I have also left a few voice messages", would I be correct? Could this same sentence be structured differently?

Thank you.

Sounds OK to me. I might leave out "but". You could make it a little more emphatic by saying "Not only have I sent..."

word inversion

eagerness — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:17:11 GMT

If I said" I have not only sent a number of e-mails, but I have also left a few voice messages", would I be correct? Could this same sentence be structured differently?

Thank you.