Reply Sat 11 May, 2013 07:26 pm
Dearest English teachers,
Good morning,it is me again.My English grammars do not explain if I can use be form in the inversion rule.Please teach me by advising the following sentence.Thank you very much in advance and do enjoy a Mother's Day.
Not only is my niece naughty,she is playful as well.
 
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contrex
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Reply Sun 12 May, 2013 02:55 am
@Loh Jane,
Loh Jane wrote:

Not only is my niece naughty,she is playful as well.


Yes, we use inversion in sentences which start with words or phrases with negative meaning like rarely/seldom/never/no sooner/not only etc. You use 'is' correctly. Your sentence is fine, except that usually we use "not only" with two things when the second thing shares something with and builds upon the first. Naughty is a criticism, but playful is not, at least not in my culture.

Not only are you always late for work, you are lazy as well. (Not only one bad thing, another one as well)

Not only is he handsome, he is also kind. (Not only one attractive feature, another one as well)

Not only does this TV have 100 channels, it also has stereo sound (Not only one desirable feature, another one as well)

Not only was our hotel room small, it was dirty as well.

Not only can my cat catch birds, it can also swim.

Not only can my son speak three languages, he can also play the violin.

Not only did he lie, he also stole.


Loh Jane
 
  1  
Reply Sun 12 May, 2013 03:03 am
@contrex,
Thanks,I am feeling much more confident to do tomorrow's English exams.
0 Replies
 
JTT
 
  1  
Reply Mon 20 May, 2013 04:02 pm
@contrex,
Really good stuff, C!!
0 Replies
 
 

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