Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[dido4]

Q1:Is this sentence right?

We not only read storybooks to kill time.

Q2:How do we use not only?

Thank you.

[Mister Micawber]

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Not (only) normally requires a but (also). These are called correlatives, like either...or.

We not only read storybooks but we also tap-danced to kill time.
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_________________
"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
...............
Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's

[dido4]

Can we have a negative only?

I mean add not in a sentence with only?

[Mister Micawber]

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I don't think so. Give me a sentence where you think you can use it, and I will tell you whether it is correct usage.
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_________________
"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
...............
Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's

[KazAV]

Hi there.

You could say, "we didn't just read storybooks...". To me, this sounds more natural.

I agree with the "not only...but also..." structure. There is also a comedy series (which starred Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in the 1960s/1970s) with this title.