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Eagerness Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

word inversion

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.
  

Top answer

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.

— 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".
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6 Answers
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eagernessIf 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..."
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RayH
eagernessIf 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 remo
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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! <
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Thank you all for your swift response to my question.
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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.
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KooyeenUsing "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.
CJ
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