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L3arn3r Posted 12 years ago
Letter Writing
Why "also" is necessary?
5. “They understood that the devastation was not solely about the lack of water, but about the way the land had been used.”
This sentence, in which solely stands in for only, places the “not only” element correctly, but, again, the comma is extraneous, and an inserted also is not: “They understood that the devastation was not solely about the lack of water but also about the way the land had been used.”
This sentence, in which solely stands in for only, places the “not only” element correctly, but, again, the comma is extraneous, and an inserted also is not: “They understood that the devastation was not solely about the lack of water but also about the way the land had been used.”
Top answer
"not... " puts the answer and feeling squarely in the 'but' phrase; and even though you add 'solely' to the 'not', the feeling is still strongly with the 'but'; however you want instead to make the 'not solely' either the main feeling or at least the 'not' and 'but' equal in feeling, so you reduce the 'but' into second place of feeling by adding 'also'. Words are as much about painting with feelings and balancing them to the right strength as they are about any facts they convey.
- "not...
- " puts the answer and feeling squarely in the 'but' phrase; and even though you add 'solely' to the 'not', the feeling is still strongly with the 'but'; however you want instead to make the 'not solely' either the main feeling or at least the 'not' and 'but' equal in feeling, so you reduce the 'but' into second place of feeling by adding 'also'.
- Words are as much about painting with feelings and balancing them to the right strength as they are about any facts they convey.
- d
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2 Answers
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"not... but..." puts the answer and feeling squarely in the 'but' phrase; and even though you add 'solely' to the 'not', the feeling is still strongly with the 'but'; however you want instead to make the 'not solely' either the main feeling or at least the 'not' and 'but' equal in feeling, so you reduce the 'but' into second place of feeling by adding 'also'. Words are as much about painting with
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l3arn3r: Why "also" is necessary?Only because the accepted coordinate conjunction includes that word: 'not only/solely/just...but also'.
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