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HifaMo Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

parallelism in correlative conjunctions

Hi,

I not only had to run 20 km, but I also had to cross rough terrain.

According tohttp://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/quiz/jeux-quiz-cnjnctns-eng.php?quiz=Submit&qznm=para-structure-eng&qzlang=eng, the sentence above is wrong.

1) Is it fully wrong? In other words, would it be correct by some grammarians?

2) Is the following version correct?

I not only had to run 20 km, but also had to cross rough terrain.

Thanks.
  

Top answer

Few grammarians would notice any failure in either #1 or #2, I think; they would choose A because of the common S-V inversion.

— Mister Micawber

  • Few grammarians would notice any failure in either #1 or #2, I think; they would choose A because of the common S-V inversion.
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2 Answers
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Few grammarians would notice any failure in either #1 or #2, I think; they would choose A because of the common S-V inversion.
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I would flag your first version as clumsy. It is not wrong, but it is bad style, for the reason given on the website. Your second version contains a wrong comma.

I don't like the sense of any version. I would flag for a recasting. It sounds as though the running and the crossing are separate events. I don't mean that it unambiguously conveys that meaning, but that meaning is there, and th
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