ShmoopTube

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Not only, but also, a la Shmoop Mr. Coleman not only yells at the kids to

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get off his lawn, but also takes detailed descriptions of them to bring to the police

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station every Sunday.

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The police not only don't care, but also use the other side of Mr. Coleman's note

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to play hangman while off-duty. The phrase not only, but also is a great tool

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for bringing something to the next level...

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...sometimes a questionably sane level, but that's a matter we'll leave to the local

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police. The setup is pretty simple.

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Not only this thing, but also this crazier-scarier-fancier-whatever-er thing!

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And there's only one rule to doing not only, but also right...

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Agreement.

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Agreement between the clauses following the not only and the but also.

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So, the clauses have to agree.

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They can be noun or verb clauses, but if they're in

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the same sentence, they have to match.

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That means that if you've got a noun clause before not only, you've got to have a noun

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clause after but also.

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"Mr. Coleman is not only a big jerk but also eats boogers for breakfast."

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After not only, there's the noun clause "a big jerk," and after but also there's

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the verb clause "eats boogers for breakfast."

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So not only is followed by a noun clause while but also is followed by a verb clause. There's

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no agreement. "Mr. Coleman is not only a big jerk but

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also an eater of boogers."

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...okay, that's... well, technically better.

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Changing the second clause from "eats boogers" to "an eater of boogers" made both clauses

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into noun clauses. Now there's agreement.

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So as long as the clauses following not only and but also match -- they're both verb

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clauses or noun clauses -- the sentence works.

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But proper grammar doesn't make Mr. Coleman any happier about those kids on his lawn.

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They really need to go inside and play Mario Party for six hours or something...

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