не само ... него и

Not Only but Also

Level 5Sounds Like ne samo ... nego i

не само ... него и translates directly to 'not only ... but also'. It introduces a baseline fact with не само, then escalates with an additional or even more significant fact using него и.

How It Works

In Serbian grammar, не само ... него и belongs to the group of gradational conjunctions (gradacioni veznici). It connects two elements where the second element exceeds the first in importance, degree, or emphasis.

1. Coordinating Parallel Constituents and Predicate Verbs
When linking words or phrases within a clause, both parts must have identical syntactic status:

  • Adjectives: Она је не само паметна него и изузетно вредна.
  • Prepositional phrases: Repeat the preposition to maintain clean parallelism: не само за привреду него и за грађане.
  • Coordinated predicate verbs: When sharing a subject, bare не само can directly precede the verb: Они не само производе него и извозе робу.
  • Noun phrases: Match case forms across both elements.

2. Clausal Coordination with 'да' or 'што'
When linking two full clausal propositions (especially with separate subjects or explicit fronted clause frames), standard Serbian typically introduces the first clause using the conjunctions да or што:

  • Не само да је положио испит него је и добио десетку. ('Not only did he pass the exam, but he also got a ten.')
  • Не само што су стигли на време него су нам и помогли. ('Not only did they arrive on time, but they also helped us.')

3. Enclitic Placement After 'него'
If the second clause has a conjugated verb requiring auxiliary or pronominal clitics (clitics), standard Wackernagel placement rules apply. Short auxiliaries like је or pronouns typically precede и:

  • ...него је и помогао (NOT: *него и је помогао)
  • ...него га је и позвао (NOT: *него и га је позвао)

4. Synonyms and Punctuation
• The variant не само ... већ и is fully synonymous and equally standard, especially in formal writing.
• According to standard Serbian orthography (Правопис српскога језика), gradational conjunctions form an indivisible communicative unit, so no comma is placed before него or већ, even when coordinating full clausal structures.

Examples (4)

  1. Она је не само паметна него и изузетно вредна.

    She is not only smart, but also exceptionally hardworking.

    Word by Word: She is not only smart but and exceptionally hardworking.

    Coordinates two predicate adjectives describing the same subject.

  2. Овај закон је значајан не само за привреду него и за грађане.

    This law is significant not only for the economy, but also for citizens.

    Word by Word: This law is significant not only for economy but and for citizens.

    Demonstrates parallel prepositional phrases where the preposition 'за' is repeated in both conjuncts.

  3. Не само да је завршио пројекат на време него је и помогао колегама.

    Not only did he finish the project on time, but he also helped his colleagues.

    Word by Word: Not only that is finished project on time but is and helped colleagues.

    Full clausal coordination requires 'да' after 'не само'. Note that the past auxiliary clitic 'је' appears before the additive focus particle 'и'.

  4. Марко говори не само енглески него и шпански језик.

    Marko speaks not only English, but also the Spanish language.

    Word by Word: Marko speaks not only English but and Spanish language.

    Links two direct objects in the accusative case.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the additive focus particle 'и' in the second half.

    Он је не само леп, него паметан.
    Он је не само леп него и паметан.

    Leaving out 'и' makes 'него' behave like an exclusive contrast ('not X, but Y'), which clashes semantically with 'не само'.

  • Connecting full verbal clauses without 'да'.

    Не само он говори енглески, него и шпански.
    Не само да он говори енглески него говори и шпански.

    Unlike in English, coordinating independent clauses with finite verbs requires 'не само да'.

  • Placing verbal clitics after 'и' instead of before it.

    Не само да је дошао, него и га је видео.
    Не само да је дошао него га је и видео.

    In clausal sentences, Serbian enclitics ('га је') must occupy second position after 'него', placing them before the particle 'и'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

не само ... него иLevel 5Not Only but Also

Learn This First

The correlative conjunction 'не само ... него и' (not only ... but also) builds directly upon the restrictive particle 'само' under negation, joined with the adversative coordinator 'него' and the additive focus marker 'и'.

Words in This Pattern

несамонегонего