Controlling Emphasis with "Not Only . . . But Also"

I drew and posted this mediocre picture of my dog floating in a void with his tongue sticking out because I’m hoping to lure you into a quick discussion about correlative conjunctions, specifically “not only . . . but also.”

Yeah, I know. Sorry about that.

If you’re a business writer, academic, or author of popular philosophy or sociology, you’ve probably used your fair share of these constructions. They’re common when writers want to hit a formal, persuasive register and make a number of emphatic points in rapid succession. But they’re often overused, which undermines their effect, and they tend to appear with errant commas, which can make them tough to process.

So how do you make sure you’re using this little duo both properly and sparingly? Here are a few quick tips, and if you find this useful, you can always reach out to me for more.

1. Be Strategic

Because correlative conjunctions provide emphasis, they only work when they’re used sparingly. Universal emphasis is its own special flatness. When multiple “not only . . . but also” constructions appear in a single paragraph or on a single page, they create a distracting chop that eventually expands into a drone, the stress lost and the overall meaning fading fast.

To avoid this, use your software’s “find” function and get picky about each instance. Sometimes a simple “this and that” construction is all you need. If you really want to get emphatic, you can turn to other tools, including other correlative conjunctions that don’t stick out as much or devices like intensifiers, cleft sentences, and inversions.

2. Watch Your Punctuation

It’s common to see a comma before both “not” and “but,” the first of which is usually unnecessary and the second of which is almost always errant.

The all-knowing Chicago style allows the first comma (or an em dash) when the writer wants to be emphatic: “He used a mediocre picture of his dog to get attention, not only because he had to come up with some kind of hook but also because he kind of liked the picture and wanted to show it off.” Personally, I don't think this works. Because correlative conjunctions already supply emphasis, the comma feels like overkill and unnecessarily breaks the flow.

When that comma is in play, it’s also common to see another one before “but,” like this: “He used a mediocre picture of his dog to get attention, not only because he had to come up with some kind of hook, but also because he kind of liked the picture and wanted to show it off.” That second comma interrupts the pairing, making “but” into a co-ordinating conjunction without an independent clause to co-ordinate. The only time it works is when the construction contains two independent clauses: “Not only did Paul write a persnickety blog post, but he also realized hardly anyone would read it.”

See what I mean? Using “not only . . . but also” sparingly and punctuating it properly will help your arguments land more effectively, and it’s just one of many tools at your disposal.