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BLTN
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Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States 05 Nov 2022, 22:33
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himanshu0123
in choice E] if I had the sentence-
''..... but it also caused...'' would it be parallel to NOT ONLY construction before.
using pronoun 'IT' after 'BUT' is ok with per idiomatic usage?
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Dear himanshu0123
it would not. Check attentively what is core that refers to both parts of parallelism and what is between parallel markers. As an example,

X not only does Y but also does Z
X - Core,
does Y
does Z

In your instance we have: X not only does Y but it also does Z
X - core
does Y
X, X does Z - What is that ?? When you substitute the pronoun "it" for a noun X you can easily spot the error.
Noun + Noun + verb

The same double-noun error is depicted in your following question,

Quote:

I am wondering because if I consider a sentence: '' I have not only mastered CSS, but I have also learned HTML.
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Hope it helps.
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Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States 21 Dec 2022, 03:54
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Hi GMATNinja

What makes us think that in A "did" will reach back to the part after "and" and touch "gave"?

Can't we have all the following as true;
Not only did he steal the money and harass the kid but also bla bla
Not only did he steal the money and harassed the kid but also bla bla
Not only he stole the money and harassed the kid but also bla bla
Not only he stole the money and did harass the kid but also bla bla

"did" may or may not reach to other art of parallelism IMO
ıs that a writing rule that "did" if used in the beginning must reach to all other relevant verbs?

Thank you
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Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States 22 Dec 2022, 02:13
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gloomybison


What makes us think that in A "did" will reach back to the part after "and" and touch "gave"?

Can't we have all the following as true;
Not only did he steal the money and harass the kid but also bla bla
Not only did he steal the money and harassed the kid but also bla bla
Not only he stole the money and harassed the kid but also bla bla
Not only he stole the money and did harass the kid but also bla bla

"did" may or may not reach to other art of parallelism IMO
ıs that a writing rule that "did" if used in the beginning must reach to all other relevant verbs?

Thank you
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Hey gloomybison

Happy to help you with this.

Yes, it is a well-defined rule that when we take a helping verb common, it applies to all verbs in the list it has been taken common from. For example:

    a. We are investigating the matter and formulating a plan of action simultaneously.
    b. Did he park the car inside and shut the garage door?
    c. Not only did he wash the dishes and clean the kitchen, he also trimmed the bushes and raked the garden.

So, as you can see, it's all about identifying what's been taken common and what not.

    a. We are investigating the matter and are formulating a plan of action simultaneously.
    b. Did he park the car inside and did he shut the garage door?
    c. Not only did he wash the dishes and did he clean the kitchen, he also trimmed the bushes and raked the garden.

Now, if we wish to change the tense or form of the second verb, we would then have to also change the helping verb of the second verb. For example, in example 'a' above, if we wished to change the second verb to the future tense, we'd say:

    d. We are investigating the matter and will be formulating a plan of action right after.

Finally, I'd like to add the following comments to your sentences:

    Not only did he steal the money and harass the kid but also bla bla - (CORRECT)
    Not only did he steal the money and harassed the kid but also bla bla - (INCORRECT - "and harass")
    Not only he stole the money and harassed the kid but also bla bla - (INCORRECT - He not only stole...and harassed)
    Not only he stole the money and did harass the kid but also bla bla - (INCORRECT - He not only stole...and harassed)


I hope this answers all your questions.

Happy Learning!


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Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States 22 Dec 2022, 13:31
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gloomybison
Hi GMATNinja

What makes us think that in A "did" will reach back to the part after "and" and touch "gave"?

Can't we have all the following as true;
Not only did he steal the money and harass the kid but also bla bla
Not only did he steal the money and harassed the kid but also bla bla
Not only he stole the money and harassed the kid but also bla bla
Not only he stole the money and did harass the kid but also bla bla

"did" may or may not reach to other art of parallelism IMO
ıs that a writing rule that "did" if used in the beginning must reach to all other relevant verbs?

Thank you
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Of the four examples you gave, only the first would be acceptable.

The second is wrong because the parallelism is off -- two parallel verbs should be interchangeable. But you clearly can't write, "Not did he harassed..."

The third and fourth examples contain a phrase ("not only he stole") that doesn't make sense. I could write, "He not only stole," in which case he performed some second action. But "not only he stole" is incorrect, partly because it isn't clear if someone else is also stealing or if "he" is doing something else.

Be careful about trying to create a rule here. It's true that if I wrote, "Not only did Tim x and y..." you'd expect the "did" to be applied to both x and y, but that's more a function of how parallelism works than about any rule regarding the usage of "did."

I hope that clears things up!
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Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States 02 Nov 2023, 10:39
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Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States create farmland (especially in the Northeast) and gave consumers relatively inexpensive houses and furniture, but it also caused erosion and very quickly deforested whole regions.

Option Elimination -

(A) Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States create farmland (especially in the Northeast) and gave consumers relatively inexpensive houses and furniture, but it also - the primary issue here is "did create" and "did gave." It has to be "give." Moreover, the construction of not only X but also Y places equal emphasis on both X and Y, while the construction of X but Y presents a contrast (It indicates that X is true or applicable, but Y presents an opposing or limiting factor.)

(B) Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States create farmland (especially in the Northeast), which gave consumers relatively inexpensive houses and furniture, but also - "which" referring to "farmland" is not correct. Moreover, there is no subject after but. We need "it."

(C) The systematic clearing of forests in the United States, creating farmland (especially in the Northeast) and giving consumers relatively inexpensive houses and furniture, but also - No verb before "but."

(D) The systematic clearing of forests in the United States created farmland (especially in the Northeast) and gave consumers relatively inexpensive houses and furniture, but it also - ok. We don't need "not only" before "but also." "but also," here is a deception (mainly "also") because if we over-rely on the rules, then we'll keep searching "not only," and there is a high probability we cross it off. This is a simple X but Y construction wherein X showcases the positives and Y as the negative factors.

(E) The systematic clearing of forests in the United States not only created farmland (especially in the Northeast), giving consumers relatively inexpensive houses and furniture, but it - Now the subject is outside of the "not only," so it is applicable for both. But a repetition hereafter "but" is not required. It was required in A because the subject was hidden in the inverted structure after "not only," but here, it is clear and outside of "not only."
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Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States 06 Mar 2025, 22:04
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