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"With the new Smartplan Diary, you not only have the usual great scheduling tools you expect from our apps, but also detailed weather reports about the places you are going to visit"

My student thinks it's strange there is the verb "have" in the first part but not the second part. He wants to make the second part like this: "but also have detailed weather reports..". How do I explain why it's okay to have a verb and why we don't need a verb in the second part?

Laurel
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Anna
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2 Answers2

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To be strictly correct the sentence should have read ...you have not only A but also B, since have refers to both features. However, most native speakers would understand the sense without giving the word order a second thought.

Kate Bunting
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    So does that mean "you have not only A but also B" would be the grammatically correct version? And yes, you're right, as a native speaker, I don't feel it's strange either way. – Anna Jul 06 '22 at 07:25
  • Er - yes, that's what I meant by 'strictly correct'! – Kate Bunting Jul 06 '22 at 07:36
  • Got it! Well, as for the verb "have", I have already explained to the student that it refers to both parts, but he doesn't seem to get it... I guess I'll mention "you have not only A but also B" would be the grammatically correct version and maybe that will help him. – Anna Jul 06 '22 at 08:15
  • Conjunction reduction is a grammatical rule, so you have not only A but also B is perfectly grammatical. It's simply an option. Most syntactic rules give options, rather than requiring or forbidding. – John Lawler Jul 06 '22 at 14:04
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  • You not only have [the usual great scheduling] tools [you expect from our apps], but also [detailed weather] reports [about the places you are going to visit].

Let's strip off the marketing bells and whistles to see the bones of the sentence.

  • You not only have tools, but also reports.

This is really two clauses, so it's a compound sentence, linked with the coordinators not only ... but also. Conjunction Reduction has deleted the repeated subject you and the verb have from the compound sentence

  • You not only have tools, but you also have reports.

Note that but means the same thing as and, except that but contains an element of surprise, something unexpected. In this case, it's the supposed wealth of features in the advertised product that the copywriter enthuses about --

  • It not only has X, but, astonishingly, it also has Y!

instead of simply

  • It has X and it has Y.

or its conjunction-reduced version

  • It has X and Y.
John Lawler
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