Expressing "not only... but also" with "budan... erqie..."

Revision as of 09:35, 20 June 2013 by Simingjie (talk | contribs)

"不但⋯⋯,而且⋯⋯" (bùdàn..., érqiě...) is a very commonly used pattern that indicates "not only, ... but also...."

Structure

Subject + 不但 + Adjective/Verb, 而且 + Adjective/Verb

The pattern can also be used omitting 而且, and instead using adverbs like 也 and 还 in its place.

Examples

  • 不但 会 说 汉语,而且 会 说 日语。She can not only speak Mandarin, but she can also speak Japanese.
  • 不但 能 修 汽车, 能 修 自行车。He can not only fix cars, but he can also fix bicycles.
  • 啊,他 很 聪明,不但 上 了 很 好 的 大学,而且 有 很 好 的 成绩。Wow. He's really smart. Not only did he go to a good university, but he also got really good grades.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites