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Not Only But Also Practice (B1-B2) - English Grammar Quiz

⏱ Time: 07:30 📝 Questions: 15 📊 Level: B1, B2 📚 Type: Grammar ⭐ XP: up to +16 (on pass)

Challenge yourself: 15 Not Only But Also questions, 7 minutes, Level B1-B2. Can you get a perfect score? The questions start straightforward and build to tricky edge cases. Read every explanation to pick up tips that textbooks often skip.

⏱ You have 07:30 to answer 15 questions. The timer only starts when you click Begin.

Q1  15
Q1 15

Question 1: She is not only a teacher ___ also a published author.

Question 1 options
'but' is correct because 'not only...but also' is the standard correlative conjunction pair. 'and', 'or', and 'yet' do not form the correct correlative structure with 'not only'.
Q2 15

Question 2: He not only ___ the report but also presented it to the whole team.

Question 2 options
'wrote' is correct because both verbs in a 'not only...but also' structure must be parallel in form — here both should be simple past tense to match 'presented'.
Q3 15

Question 3: When 'not only...but also' connects two nouns, a comma should be placed before 'but also'.

Question 3 options
False because when 'not only...but also' connects nouns (not independent clauses), no comma is used. A comma is only required when the second part is an independent clause.
Q4 15

Question 4: Which situation best describes why a writer would use 'not only...but also' in a sentence?

Question 4 options
'To emphasize that two things are both true' is correct because 'not only...but also' is a correlative conjunction used to add emphasis by highlighting two connected qualities, actions, or facts simultaneously.
Q5 15

Question 5: Arrange the words to make a correct sentence:

Question 5 options
  • She
  • is
  • not only kind
  • generous
  • but also

Drag items or use arrows to arrange them in the correct order.

The correct order is 'She is not only kind but also generous' because 'not only...but also' connects two parallel adjectives after the linking verb 'is'.
Q6 15

Question 6: Which sentence uses 'not only...but also' correctly?

Question 6 options
'She not only sings but also plays the guitar' is correct because both verbs are parallel in form (simple present). The other options break parallelism by mixing verb forms.
Q7 15

Question 7: A: 'Does Marco speak any foreign languages?' B: 'Yes! He speaks ___ Spanish but also Italian and French.'

Question 7 options
'not only' is correct because the response uses the 'not only...but also' structure to emphasize that Marco speaks more than one language. 'not just', 'not even', and 'not much' do not form the correct correlative pair with 'but also'.
Q8 15

Question 8: Which sentence correctly uses 'not only...but also' rather than 'both...and'?

Question 8 options
'Not only did she win the race, but she also broke the record' is correct because 'not only' at the start of a sentence requires subject-auxiliary inversion in the first clause, which is a feature of 'not only...but also' that 'both...and' does not require.
Q9 15

Question 9: Put the words/clauses in the correct order:

Question 9 options
  • he also bakes
  • Not only
  • does he cook well
  • but

Drag items or use arrows to arrange them in the correct order.

The correct order is 'Not only does he cook well but he also bakes' because when 'not only' starts a sentence, subject-auxiliary inversion ('does he') is required in the first clause.
Q10 15

Question 10: The new sports centre is not only ___.

Question 10 options
'large but also very modern' is correct because 'not only...but also' must connect two parallel adjective phrases here. The other options break the parallel structure or omit the required 'but also' element.
Q11 15

Question 11: Which statement about subject-auxiliary inversion with 'not only' is true?

Question 11 options
Inversion is required when 'not only' appears at the beginning of a sentence. When 'not only' appears in the middle of a sentence, normal word order is kept.
Q12 15

Question 12: Rewrite using 'not only...but also' at the start: 'The plan saved money and improved teamwork.' → Not only ___ money, but it also improved teamwork.

Question 12 options
'did the plan save' is correct because when 'not only' fronts a sentence, subject-auxiliary inversion is required — the auxiliary 'did' moves before the subject 'the plan'.
Q13 15

Question 13: Match each sentence to the correct grammar label.

Question 13 options
She is not only a doctor but also a researcher.
He not only runs fast but also jumps high.
Not only did they arrive late, but they also forgot the tickets.
The film was not only long but also confusing.
Connecting parallel adjectives
Connecting parallel adverbs
Connecting parallel nouns
Subject-auxiliary inversion at sentence start

Select an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.

'Not only...but also' can connect nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs in parallel structures. When it starts a sentence with an independent clause, subject-auxiliary inversion is required.
Q14 15

Question 14: When 'not only...but also' connects two independent clauses, the word 'also' must always directly follow 'but' with no subject between them.

Question 14 options
False because when the second clause is independent, a subject is inserted between 'but' and 'also' (e.g., 'but she also...'). Only with dependent clauses does 'but also' stay together without a subject between them.
Q15 15

Question 15: Which sentence is more appropriate for formal written English when emphasising two strong qualities?

Question 15 options
'She is not only highly experienced but also exceptionally talented' is more appropriate for formal writing because fronting the correlative conjunction and using parallel adjective phrases adds rhetorical emphasis, which is a key feature of 'not only...but also' in formal registers.