To but or not to but

Both are correct.

Both work, however most authorities prefer smaller buts. Generaly a but is used to contrast clauses. "He's handsome but stupid. In your sentence there is no real contrasting. Like: "He's informed, but narrowly so," Rather than but, use "and" as you are adding to his qualities, " He's informed and modest about it."

Your knowledge is as limited as your English. "Not only ... but also ... " is a common English construction.

Hi Contrex,

Could you help me to understand the grammatical structure of "Not only is your son.....". Why do we put "is" before "your" but not "Not only your son is.....".

Thanks,
RedLily

My English is not so limited as your limited exposure to it might suggest. I bet you are an authority that prefers big buts. Go back to sleep.

One is preferred to the awkward wording of the other. Ask contrex which one it is.

There are a number of situations where the verb (e.g.'is') is placed before the subject (e.g. 'your son'). This is called inversion. One of these situations is in expressions starting with 'only' or 'not only'. You will notice that following these any subject/verb pairs are not inverted.

Only after the meeting did I realize the importance of the subject.

Only after the rain had started did he realise he had no umbrella.

Not only is the cup empty, it is also cracked.

There are plenty of web resources about inversion, and it is a topic in many grammar books. Here is just one of many sites where you can see some other times when it is used:

http://www.learn-english-today.com/lessons/lesson_contents/verbs/inversion.html

A Google search e.g. for "English grammar verb inversion' will find you plenty of others.

I like big butts, myself. Each to his own, said the old woman as she kissed the cow.

Thank you contrex. You are very helpful. I will go to the website and learn more.

Use of the BUT Holty probably makes the comma unnecessary

Humble can have perjorative meanings, like he knows his place, won't take risks, is a bit of a suck up. Polite does not have such negative connotations.

Like Uriah Heep in Charles Dickens' 'David Copperfield'. His name has become synonymous with being a yes man.

In deferential societies, being humble is how a lower status person behaves towards a higher status person, whereas politeness involves no assumptions of status.

Exactly, humble always makes me think of him. Not the band though. I won't post a song because they're crap. I saw them at Newcastle City Hall and spent the entire concert in the bar.

You need to listen to the live album. Seen them several times with Frampton and without Frampton in the seventies and they were one of the best live bands I've witnessed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZMmV6xXYFw&list=PLUdmMccuxH2HRL1pmRyjgtJ-_tqytedfc&feature=player_detailpage

Did you not read my post? I saw them live.